Blue Jays add some punch acquiring free agent Anthony Santander on a five-year deal

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After what has been a swing-and-miss off-season in terms of landing a bat to help their lagging offence, the Blue Jays finally connected.

And in landing 30-year-old Anthony Santander to a five-year deal worth US$92.5 million, the Jays have a potentially dangerous offence weapon that immediately will improve a Jays offence coming off its lowest-scoring output since 1997.

It was big outlay for the Jays and a nice rebound for general manager Ross Atkins, who has had a largely quiet off-season thus far, especially on the offensive side. The contract is the third-largest free agent deal in franchise history behind the six-year, US$150 million that went to George Springer and starter Kevin Gausman’s five-year US$110-million contract.

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A 30-year-old switch-hitter, Santander has battled inconsistencies at times in his career — and his on-base percentage is modest. But there’s no doubt he can mash for power, a glaring need for his new team. Last season with the Baltimore Orioles, Santander belted 44 home runs and drove in 102 runs.

With that kind of output from Santander, the Jays immediately will have some power at the top of the order to mesh and mash with Vlad Guerrero Jr. and, ideally, a renewed Bo Bichette.

The Jays reportedly had accelerated discussions with Santander over the weekend before getting the acquisition across the finish line. Santander will meet the Toronto media via a video conference on Tuesday.

The power is obviously the biggest attraction in Santander, who had a career-high with his 44 homers last season. He may have flaws, but Santander gives the Jays something they have been missing for the past two seasons — the ability to change a game with one swing of the bat.

He also has had some lethal moments against the Jays in his career.

In what has been a slow-moving off-season, not just for the Jays but for all of Major League Baseball, the signing is a big one for beleaguered Toronto general manager Ross Atkins, who has taken heat for falling short on a number of fronts.

That said, the Jays have improved their defence by adding Gold Glove second baseman Andres Giminez in a trade with Cleveland and found a potential closer to replace Jordan Romano by signing free agent Jeff Hoffman.

The term of the Santander deal is likely a premium and the expectation will be for him to produce at the front end of the five years. But being desperate for offence, if there was a premium paid by the Jays it was necessary.