THE Baltimore Orioles enter the offseason with huge questions looming after another season without winning a single playoff game like the last decadebeing swept in the Wild Card round by the Kansas City Royals.

Baltimore took a step back from its historic 101-win season in 2023, winning 91 games while scratching and clawing to make the playoffs, but the result in October was the same in both seasons and finished with a sweep. As the Orioles prepare to approach free agency, there are two huge elephants in the room hanging over everything in free agency. Antoine Santander And Corbin Burnes.

As much as the team would like to bring both back, it may not be extremely realistic and if one should take priority over the other, it has to be Burnes. Despite the fact that Santander is coming off a career season, Burnes would and should be the priority as the value of a proven pitching ace at the top of the rotation is too great to pass up. If it plays out this way and Baltimore can’t afford to keep Santander, there are some destinations he could end up that would sting. Matt Johnson of SportsNaut projected All-Star slugger ends up with AL East rival Toronto Blue Jays if they can’t land some of the biggest fish on the open market.

“The Toronto Blue Jays would love to have Juan Soto, but that seems unlikely,” Johnson wrote. “Alex Bregman would be another important addition to the Blue Jays’ roster, but Toronto may have to overpay to keep him from choosing between allegiance to the Houston Astros or joining AJ Hinch in Detroit. That leaves Anthony Santander.”

Santander have played 155 matches in 2024, the most his career. He was named an All-Star for the first time in his eight-year career after a campaign with 44 homers and 102 RBIs, career highs in both cases. While he doesn’t bring much to the table on defense, his powerful bat is enough to intrigue any team needing to add some pop to the lineup with 105 blasts over the last three seasons combined.

Baltimore would love to bring back Santander, but if they can’t, look for the Blue Jays as a team to potentially step in.