- Vladimir Guerrero Jr. of the Toronto Blue Jays came through their farm system, and is now the best player on the team.
- Guerrero Jr. set a deadline of Monday, February 17, to come to a deal with the Blue Jays regarding a new contract.
- The two sides couldn’t agree on a number, so Guerrero Jr. will either renegotiate a new contract after the season, head to free agency next summer, or the Blue Jays can trade him.
The start of the Major League Baseball season is right around the corner, as spring training starts this week. The rest of the majors are just trying to keep pace with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Toronto Blue Jays are facing a dilemma as they couldn’t come to a contract extension with slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Now, Guerrero Jr. will play the season with free agency on the horizon, and the Blue Jays have to figure out what to do.
Guerrero Jr. Doesn’t Want to Negotiate During Season But Wants to Stay in Toronto
Sportsnet reported on Tuesday that Guerrero Jr. and the Blue Jays couldn’t come to an extension by the slugger’s deadline of 9:00 PM ET on Monday, February 17.
The two sides haven’t been able to come to a long-term extension through Guerrero Jr.’s career. This season, Guerrero Jr. is playing on a one-year deal worth $28.5 million, although arbitration has been on the table for both sides for the last four years. They’ve only needed arbitration once in those four years, but most teams don’t have to do with their stars.
Toronto general manager Ross Atkins defended the team:
"I am confident that we exhausted the communication, the ideas, the thoughts and communicated every dollar … The offers that we made for Vlad would've been record-setting and would've made him one of the highest-paid players in the game."
Guerrero Jr. claimed:
"Listen, I want to be here. I want to be a Blue Jay for the rest of my career. But it's free agency. It's business. So, I'm going to have to listen to 29 more teams, and they're going to have to compete for that."
Now, Guerrero Jr. will report to spring training for the Blue Jays, who are well off the pace in the World Series betting odds, and finished last place in the American League East in 2024.
What’s Next for Guerrero and the Blue Jays?
Guerrero Jr., the son of Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero, was born in Montreal and has been part of the Toronto system since he was 16. He burst into the spotlight in 2021 with a 48-homer campaign, and batted a career-high .323 with 30 home runs and 103 RBIs in 2024. You probably won’t see him in many spring training bets as the Blue Jays will ease him into the season, but they’ve got way bigger issues now.
The Blue Jays missed out on Shohei Ohtani last season as he went to the Dodgers, going on to win the World Series. They also lost out on Juan Soto, who signed with the New York Mets. Toronto hasn’t landed a major free agent since George Springer and Kevin Gausman in 2021, but Guerrero Jr. is the face of the franchise.
Toronto has a couple of different options now. They can wait and renegotiate with Guerrero Jr. after the season when he becomes a free agent. The problem is that the Blue Jays will be competing with the likes of the Dodgers, the Mets, and of course, the rival New York Yankees, who lost Soto to the Mets.
There will be no shortage of suitors for Guerrero Jr., and the Blue Jays can also trade him for what would be a massive haul.
The Blue Jays find themselves in a tricky position now, and the fan base is on pins and needles, waiting to see what will happen with their star slugger.
