Small-market finalist in Anthony Santander sweepstakes should infuriate Reds fans

Reds fans are growing increasingly impatient as the best free agent fits for Cincinnati's roster continue to come off the board. Teoscar Hernández, Max Kepler, Michael Conforto, and Tyler O'Neill have all signed free agent contract this offseason.

But one of the biggest outfield bats available still remains on the open market. Anthony Santander, who crushed 44 home runs in 2024, is still a free agent. Rumors emerged earlier this week that that the Los Angeles Angels are one of the teams interested in signing the 30-year-old this offseason.

On Thursday, MLB insider Jon Morosi added two more teams to the list of potential Santander suitors — unsurprisingly the Reds were not among them. According to Morosi, the Toronto Blue Jays and Detroit Tigers are attempting to ink Santander to a free agent deal.

The Tigers' interest in Anthony Santander should infuriate Reds fans

Wait a minute. You mean a small-market team with a superstar player (Tarik Skubal) and playoff aspirations can actually spend money in free agency? Yes! Which is exactly why Reds fans should be furious with this latest reporting. If Santander does indeed sign with Detroit, it's a major slap in the face to the Cincinnati faithful who've been begging Nick Krall and the Reds' ownership to sign a power-hitter for the middle of the lineup.

Cincinnati has a massive hole in the lineup, and has since the 2021 season. After Nick Castellanos left in free agency and both Eugenio Suárez and Jesse Winker were traded to the Seattle Mariners, the Reds have constantly been trying to fill the roster with retreads and marginal talent. Players like Tommy Pham, Brandon Drury, Wil Myers, and Nick Martini have all had varying levels of success and failure, and every year the Reds end up back at square one.

What's more mind-numbing is the team's failed attempts to develop any real outfield talent from within. Instead, players like Nick Senzel and Spencer Steer are shoved from the infield dirt onto the outfield grass and left to fend for themselves. This strategy has not worked well, and to make matters worse, six of the organization's top-10 prospects are infielders.

Reds fans are growing tired of the front office's failed attempts to reinvigorate a former All-Star who's past his prime or convert talented infielders into metaphorical crash-test dummies in the outfield. The Reds could (and should) follow the Tigers' lead and actually try to sign a big-bat like Santander. Turning a blind eye to the obvious hole in the middle of the lineup is not going fix it.

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