Why did Orioles not re-sign Santander? | MAILBAG

Question: My question is why did the Orioles let Anthony Santander get away and much less go to a team in our division?  The average year on his contract with Toronto is $18 million. They are paying Tyler O’Neill, who is not nearly as good, an average of $16.5 million. I have been an Oriole fan since 1966 and it makes me mad that Mike Elias made these moves, especially when he has been given permission to increase the team’s payroll. From: Mike Beale

Answer: Mike, as I’ve pointed out several times in recent weeks, the Orioles’ payroll has increased since David Rubenstein became the owner, and it’s now 15^th in baseball.

Santander’s contract is five years for $92.5 million, an average of $18.5 million. Paying a slugger who’s 30 for five years might be unwise. It’s reported that nearly $62 million of the money is deferred.

While Santander is fun to watch, O’Neill is probably a better defender and is a year younger. His contract will expire at age 32 while Santander’s runs through age 35. It’s possible that O’Neill will opt out after 2025, and that the Orioles won’t be paying his entire three-year, $49.5 million.

Santander is a personal favorite, and a joy to be around, but it was the length of the contract, not the annual salary, that was probably the deciding factor. 

Question:  I guess I’ve always known that veterans get better locker spots, and occasionally we get a glimpse of this when there are postgame interviews in the locker room. Can you give us a sense of the O’s locker room? What’s the geography? Who gets what lockers? What is the music, the food, the vibe? From: Kevin Whitaker

Answer: Kevin, that’s an interesting question. The positioning of lockers changes from year to year with veteran players getting an empty locker next to theirs. Pitchers are generally next to each other, and most position players are next to each other.

There’s a kitchen located in a corner of the clubhouse, and players generally don’t eat in front of us. There’s often music playing before games, and there’s a pool table, and sometimes other games, but the clubhouse is a little small for many of them.

Most weekdays, I’ll be answering at least one Orioles question. If you’d like to submit a question, send it to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com. Questions may be edited for clarity, length and style.