The Toronto Blue Jays are now opening one of the most critical seasons in franchise history as players arrive for spring training.
But one key player, superstar Vladimir Guerrero Jr., could be arriving at Blue jays camp for the last time.
Guerrero, who was drafted by the Blue Jays and has been one of baseball’s best young talents, is entering his final year of arbitration eligibility before gaining the chance to become a free agent. He issued a deadline to his current team to offer him an appealing contract extension by Monday night and that deadline has now passed without the two sides coming to an agreement.
According to Blue Jays reporter Keegan Matheson, Guerrero has now issued a harsh message about the team’s chances of retaining him for the long term.
“I’m here,” Guerrero said, per Matheson, apparently referring to reaching camp. “We didn’t get an agreement. Now they’re going to have to compete with 29 other teams.”
As a four-time All-Star, two-time Silver Slugger Award winner and former Gold Glove Award winner at just 25 years old, Guerrero will be one of the most coveted free agents on the market. An extension to get him to pass on that chance might have cost the Blue Jays as much as $400 million. That’s a lot to lock into a first baseman, as talented as he is.
But now the Blue Jays will have to compete with major market teams like the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and others next winter if they hope to hold onto Guerrero for the long term. Any kind of hometown discount they might have received seems to have gone out the window, particularly given Guerrero’s reaction to the extension deadline passing.
In recent winters, the Blue Jays have tried and failed to entice premier free agents like Shohei Ohtani, Juan Soto, Cody Bellinger and Roki Sasaki. They could be a significant player in the bidding for Guerrero next winter, but it seems like they can no longer count on the young superstar sticking around in Toronto.
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