What would a contract offer for Santander and Hernández look like?
We put on the hat of general managers of an MLB team whose owners have asked us to prepare offers to attract two of the best free agents available. What elements should they have?
After the signing of Juan Soto with New York Metsmany expected that free agency would fully take off and that we would see aggressive bidding for the best players still available. However, the situation has cooled down quite a bit and although there are still important names in the market, everything indicates that both the organizations and the teams have decided to take the situation calmly.
Among the position players who still remain as free agents, the Dominican Teoscar Hernandez and the Venezuelan Anthony Santander They remain two of the biggest names that can have an immediate impact on any franchise they enter. Both come from seasons in which their performance was extremely positive and salary projections place them in a privileged position regarding the contracts they could sign.
This, added to the way in which the negotiation process of the Juan Soto agreement altered the free agent market, as well as the player exchange market, implies that both Santander as Hernandez They could be on their way to getting excellent contracts.
Putting on our hat as general managers, what proposal would we make to either of these two players? The first thing is to understand what you both bring to the table. Being both outfielders, we can establish that the signing of either of them fills a similar gap, so, barring a significant absence of outfielders, the hiring of both at the same time is out of the question.
Starting with Santanderthe Venezuelan is a 30-year-old switch-hitter who is coming off his best offensive season, after hitting 44 home runs in 2024. Only once had he surpassed 30 homers (2022). This, added to the fact that he is a solid defender in the outfield and has just earned $11.7 million dollars in his last year of eligibility for salary arbitration.
The market value of Santanderaccording to the portal specialized in sports finance, Spottract, is $17.7 million dollars per season and its contractual projection points to five seasons and close to $89 million dollars. With the exception of Juan Sotothe largest contract awarded to an outfielder in free agency in the last four years is that of George Springer on the part of Toronto Blue Jays ($150 million for 6 campaigns), at 32 years old. Springerobviously, he had more achievements at the time of his free agency than Santanderbut it arrived two years older.
Taking these elements into account, plus the reality of the current market, I would offer a contract of $110 million dollars for six years to the Venezuelan, which would mean an annual average of $18.3 million per year. Additionally, it would place a buy-out option from the contract for the team, after the fourth season, paying the player, if exercised, $5 million dollars as compensation.
This ensures a good number of years for Santanderwho has been a consistent player, as well as money above projections and an exit, if necessary, if the Venezuelan’s performance declined considerably in the first four years.
Moving on to Hernández, the Dominican is coming off his best offensive season in Major Leagues and of course, he just won a World Seriesbeing one of the protagonists of the season Los Angeles Dodgers.
Hernandez He is 32 years old, so a long-term contract is ruled out from the start and he is a slightly below average defender, although as a right fielder, he is coming off a great year in which he had a DRS (defensive runs saved) of 7 in 60 games at that position.
The Dominican is in free agency for the second consecutive year and has just earned $23.5 million dollars for one year with the Dodgers. His market value according to Spotrct is 23.8 million and the contract projection is 3 years and just over $71 million dollars.
Taking this into account, we would offer a 3-year contract for $75 million dollars, $25 million on average per year, plus an option for a fourth season for another $15 million, being able to take the contract up to 90 million for 4 years, if that is the case. option is taken.
Just like Santanderwould be paid to Hernandez an average salary similar to that of the projections, but slightly higher and would not compromise the team’s long-term finances, being able to make the decision to release the player once the third year of his contract ends, if this is considered necessary.
Again, it is important to remember that the free agent market has seen a general increase in prices, so to acquire the best possible talent, it is necessary to pay a little more than what projections indicate.
