The Blue Jays finalized their five-year free agent take care of Anthony Santander this week. The deal got here with a $92.5MM assure however was identified to incorporate heavy deferrals. Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith first reported on Monday that MLB calculated the contract’s web current nearer to $70MM.
Shi Davidi of Sportsnet reported extra specifics on the contract construction this afternoon. The NPV landed just below $68.6MM, which comes with an approximate $13.7MM annual aggressive stability tax hit. The deal contains $61.75MM in deferred cash. The particular format is as follows:
$13.5MM signing bonus ($6.75MM deferred)
$13.5MM wage in 2025 ($10MM deferred)
$16.5MM wage in 2026 ($10MM deferred)
$16.5MM wage in 2027 ($10MM deferred)
$14.75MM wage in 2028 ($10MM deferred)
$12.75MM wage in 2029 ($10MM deferred)
$15MM membership choice for 2030; assured a $5MM buyout, which might be fully deferred
Santander has an opt-out after the ’27 season. He’s owed $60MM over the primary three years, so he’d be weighing whether or not to depart two years and $32.5MM ($25MM of which might be deferred) on the desk. If he opts out, Toronto can override that by guaranteeing his 2030 wage at $17.5MM. That might additionally escalate Santander’s salaries for the 2028 and ’29 seasons to $17.25MM and $15.25MM, respectively. The utmost worth is $110MM over six years — which might solely be reached if Santander opts out and the Jays override it.
In the beginning of the offseason, the slugger was reportedly searching for 5 years and a nine-figure assure. He obtained the 5 years however got here up nicely shy of $100MM from an NPV perspective. MLBTR predicted Santander for 4 years and $80MM initially of the offseason. He beat that on uncooked cash however didn’t get there by way of web current worth.
The Jays are into luxurious tax territory. They’re taxed at a 20% fee on spending between $241MM and $261MM. They’re near the $261MM cutoff. Including Santander doubtless comes with round a $3MM tax hit for the upcoming season. Toronto can be taxed at a 32% clip for spending between $261MM and $281MM.
