Cash Considerations: Reds should have been all over Anthony Santander after contract details revealed

Welcome back to Cash Considerations, a new weekly column at Blog Red Machine breaking down the effects of baseball economics on small-market teams like the Cincinnati Reds. This week we're going to take a look at Anthony Santander's contract.

The Reds were loosely connected to Santander throughout the offseason, but the idea of signing the former Baltimore Orioles slugger always felt like a long shot. The pipe dream of those wide-eyed fans throughout Reds Country came to end last week after Santander agreed to a five-year, $92.5 million deal with the Toronto Blue Jays.

But it's the details of Santander's contract that were peculiar. The new Blue Jays outfielder — if you can call him that — signed a heavily-deferred deal. Not unlike the bevy of free agents who've been joining the Los Angeles Dodgers of late, Santander will not be receiving all his money up front. Instead, of $92.5 million, the net present value (NPV) is actually closer to $70 million.

Reds should have been all over Anthony Santander after contract details revealed

Why in the world players want to defer money is beyond me. The time value of money concept states that money now is better than money later. After all, you can take the money you earn in the present and invest it. Depending on the investment return, you can walk away far richer with money in the moment than you will make in the future.

Using Santander as an example, the newly minted Blue Jays outfielder deferred over $60 million. That's great news for the Blue Jays ownership, but utterly baffling on the part of the Santander and his representation.

That said, this is the type of deal that should have Bob Castellini and the Reds' ownership group crawling over barbed wire to sign. While the luxury tax is of little consequence to the Reds — they're never going to be among the big spenders anyway — handing out less cash up front sounds like the type of strategy Castellini and Co. can only dream about. But apparently that's the new trend.

Ken Griffey Jr. signed a heavily-deferred contract with the Reds

The Reds are no stranger to this type of deal. While it wasn't during Castellini's tenure, Ken Griffey Jr.'s contract with Cincinnati included nearly $60 million in deferred payments. The Reds just got out from underneath that last season. Griffey's $116.5 million deal was actually worth a little less than $90 million in NPV.

The Reds rarely spend in free agency, but Cincinnati could've inked Santander to a similar contract and filled one of their biggest roster holes heading into the 2025 season. It would've provided that big bat in the middle of the Reds lineup that the fanbase has been clamoring for.

These deferred contracts are nothing new, and are no longer isolated to just the Dodgers. The Reds — and other small-market teams — may need to get on board, especially if Cincinnati has any hope of retaining some of their top young talent like Elly De La Cruz and Matt McLain beyond their arbitration windows. This is an open invitation for Castellini to spend less money. It's rather odd that he hasn't jumped on this trend, isn't it?

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