The front office of the Toronto Bluejays announced on 18 February 2025 that no agreement has been reached with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. on a long term contract extension.
Therefore, as things stand, Vladdy will go into free agency at the end of the 2025 season.
This is huge news from the Bluejays, and it’s taken months, if not years, of talks. The only conclusion we can draw from the front office of the president Mark Shapiro and general manager Ross Atkins is that they don’t think Vlad is worth signing on a long term deal, on the amount of money he is asking for. Is that the only conclusion though?
Born in Montreal, Canada in March 1999, Vlad has only ever played for the Bluejays. He started in the majors in 2019 with a WAR of 2.1. His breakout year was 2021, where he led the league with 48 home runs and an OPS+ of 167.
However, there is a caveat to these figures, as this was a COVID-affected season where games were played at minor league stadiums. Make of that what you will.
His following two seasons weren’t as good, with an OPS+ of 133 and 116 respectively, but still above average. Last season didn’t start well, but finished strongly with an OPS+ of 166 and 30 home runs. Although some say he did better once the Bluejays playoff hopes were fading, pressure off? He does only have three hits in 25 plate appearances in playoff games. But he is only 25 years of age with a lot of baseball still to play and experience to gain.
This saga has been ongoing for some time with the deadline imposed by Vlad himself, to stop any distractions for the upcoming season, not only for Vlad, but for his teammates too. It’s not the first time they have failed to reach an agreement either, early in 2024 the Bluejays offered $18.05million for the
2024 season, whilst Vlad wanted more. Sound familiar? This was certainly the warning sign that both parties were not on the same page. A tribunal eventually awarded Vlad $19.9million.
We don’t know how much both parties offered, or how far apart they are, but Vlad has made it clear he wanted to remain in Toronto with the Bluejays. Does this mean the offer was way off?
From the press conferences, Atkins said “offers we made to Vlad were record setting and would have made him one of the highest paid players in the game”. Yet still not enough for someone who loves Toronto and wants to stay playing there for the rest of his life though?
It’s certainly going to be an interesting season for Vlad and the Bluejays, he will be under immense scrutiny with any drop in form magnified. He’ll need to convince the fans and any potential suitors that he deserves the big money he’s asking for. There’s no denying Vlad is a top major league player, his stats
prove this, but is he elite? A generational talent perhaps? Shapiro doesn’t think he is at the moment at least, after being asked in October last year. Is he in the same league as Juan Soto and Shohei Ohtani? I would say no. But he’s not far off, and all thirty teams would jump at the chance to sign him.
So many unanswered questions remain with an intriguing storyline, which will go on throughout the summer. To answer my earlier question, I’ll be honest – I don’t know. I think there’s more to this story than just money. The front office had the opportunity to have a leading first basemen for the next
decade, long after the likes of Shapiro and Atkins are around. The easiest option was to give him what he wants, walk away and let the next guy deal with the outcome, so you could give credit to Shapiro for putting the franchise first and not taking the easy option.
The front office’s job is to safeguard the future of the franchise and build a World Series-winning team. This is clearly what they believe is the right choice and not to give in to the demands of Vlad.
We will have to wait until the Winter Meetings to see if anyone else does.
Ian Flux is a Blue Jays fan.
Featured image – Kathryn Riley/Getty Images
