Blue Jays position players reported to camp this morning for the club’s first full-squad workout of the spring, and superstar first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. set a deadline of today for extension talks with the club ahead of his final season under club control before free agency. That deadline has come and gone, and Guerrero told reporters (including Keegan Matheson of MLB.com) this morning that the sides did not reach a deal. ESPN’s Jeff Passan adds that Guerrero does not intend to negotiate during the season and now expects to reach free agency, while Hazel Mae relays (Video Link) that Guerrero noted he “would not close the door” on signing if Toronto brass presented him with a “realistic” offer.
Guerrero, still just 25 until March 16, is one of the most accomplished young players in the league and is likely to enter free agency as the most sought-after player available. A four-time All-Star with a Gold Glove award at first base and two Silver Slugger awards under his belt, Guerrero is a .288/.363/.500 (137 wRC+) hitter for his career. That type of offensive talent will always be enticing to clubs in free agency, but what makes Guerrero stand out as a top-of-the-class hitter is his combination of youth and ceiling.
Few hitters in the game can accomplish what Guerrero has in his peak seasons; his 2021 campaign was second only to Shohei Ohtani in AL MVP voting as he hit .311/.401/.601 (166 wRC+). His 48 home runs were tied with Salvador Perez for the most in the majors that year, and his .401 on-base percentage led the American League while trailing only Juan Soto and Bryce Harper in the NL. Steps back offensively in 2022 and ’23 raised questions regarding whether that otherworldly performance might be a fluke, but Guerrero squashed those concerns by more or less repeating his 2021 heroics this past season. Guerrero slashed a sensational .323/.396/.544 (165 wRC+) in 159 games for the Jays this past year, hitting “just” 30 homers in the process but making up for that with a career-best 44 doubles and a 13.8% strikeout rate that was the lowest of his career. Just nine qualified MLB hitters struck out less often than Guerrero in 2024, and among that group only Jose Ramirez and his 39-homer campaign were able to top Guerrero’s .221 isolated slugging percentage.
Reaching free agency on the heels of his age-26 season should make Guerrero all the more attractive in free agency come November. Guerrero will hit the open market just one year older than Juan Soto was during his own free agency this past winter, and that young age was crucial for Soto in securing his record-shattering deal that figures to pay him $765MM over the next 15 years and could max out at more than $800MM. That massive payday came in spite of Soto being a limited defender in the outfield corners who does not provide substantial value on the basepaths. While Soto is arguably in a class all his own as a hitter, with his career 158 wRC+ nearly matching Guerrero’s peak seasons, his record payday is still great news for the Jays’ slugger as there’s arguably no better comparison for Soto in the league than Guerrero at his peak.
Given that, it’s easy to imagine the bidding for Guerrero’s services surpassing half of a billion dollars. That seems to be right around where Guerrero set the bar in extension talks with Toronto, as reports regarding his asking price have suggested he was looking for north of $450MM. As Passan notes, Guerrero answered with a simple “No” when asked if the Blue Jays had put forth an offer that was close to his price point, and given Guerrero said earlier this winter that Toronto’s offer to him prior to Soto’s deal with the Mets sat at $340MM it’s hard to argue with his assessment unless the club brought their offer significantly higher over the course of the offseason.
Given the gap between the Guerrero’s rumored demands and the offer he said the Blue Jays made, it’s hardly a shock that the sides did not work out a deal. That’s reflected in a poll of MLBTR readers last month, where just 19.49% of respondents believed Guerrero would sign long-term with the club before today’s self-imposed deadline. Even so, Guerrero made clear to reporters that he’d still like to be a Blue Jay for life even as he went on to note that Toronto will now have to compete with 29 other clubs for his services on the open market. On the other hand, he also noted (as relayed by Matheson) his desire to win a World Series championship with his next club. That desire to win could hurt the Blue Jays’ odds of keeping Guerrero, as they finished dead last in a crowded AL East division with a 74-88 record. They appear to be longshots for the postseason this year as well after the Yankees and Orioles augmented their already playoff-caliber clubs while the Red Sox put together a strong offseason that saw them add multiple star players in Garrett Crochet and Alex Bregman.
As for the front office’s perspective, club GM Ross Atkins spoke to reporters shortly after Guerrero did and expressed disappointment that a deal did not get done, as relayed by Matheson. Atkins went on to emphasize that the club “worked very hard” in their efforts to come together on a deal and added that the “motivation” on the organization’s part to keep their superstar in the fold is “still there.” Atkins refused to get into specifics regarding numbers and contract offers but described their offer to Guerrero as one that would’ve been record-setting for the Blue Jays and made Guerrero “one of the highest paid players” in baseball if signed (video link via Mae). Atkins also made clear that the club’s inability to get a deal done with Guerrero was not a matter of resources, though that’s hardly a surprise given their high-dollar bids for Ohtani and Soto the past two winters.
Going forward, the Blue Jays figure to continue trying to win during Guerrero’s final year of club control. They’ve long resisted the possibility of trade talks involving their star slugger and, after spending $166MM to add Yimi Garcia, Jeff Hoffman, Anthony Santander, and Max Scherzer in free agency this winter while adding another $96.5MM in trade by taking on the Andres Gimenez contract from the Guardians, it seems unlikely that they would change course now rather than push in for 2025 and hope they can convince Guerrero to return next offseason. It’s possible that they could revisit the possibility of dealing Guerrero at the trade deadline this summer if they’ve fallen completely out of the playoff picture by then, however, and if shopped Guerrero would be the most impactful rental moved at a trade deadline since Manny Machado in 2018.
Trade him.
To late to trade him now as you brought in guys like Santander on the premise that Vladdy was going to be here for the very least this year coming. Trading him would just make their reputation even worse.
They have the worst reputation, it doesnt matter. Its time for new FO to rebuiild.
Nah Miami has the worst reputation.
Dig – Red Sox have a worse reputation, maybe trade Devers for Vlad?
Devers is no Vlad
Then Devers and Casas for Vlad
Devers’ 125 career wRC+ is slightly worse than Vlad’s 137 wRC+, but Devers has been significantly better defensively (by OAA and UZR). Devers is also signed for 29mil AAV for the next 9 seasons.
I can see the argument that Vlad is better, but when accounting for the contract, I’d rather have Devers. That said, having both would be even better.
Mac – Devers would be at least $150M cheaper than what it would take to extend Vlad.
dsett – You realize Vlad is a free agent in less than 10 months, right?
WCS – Well said, thank you!
What does this mean? So because they signed santander to a 5 year deal they have to give him 1 year of Vlad?
Dustey I never thought you would not understand this but what it means is when they signed players like Santander, Scherzer, Hoffman they were signed on the premise that this team would have at the very least there current roster for one year and they would continue to work to keep Vladdy and bring in others to compete. They did not sign with Toronto thinking oh well Vladdy does not sign the team will trade him and maybe others now.
I understand that but it’s a business and the jays need to do what’s best for them. The players who signed here understood Vlad and Bo are on their last year.
Would santander prefer one year of playing with Vlad if it meant auto last place finishes for the last 4 years of his contract?
You answered it yourself Dustey, when you said it’s a business. Being a business means you are handling multiple personalities in an effort to make MONEY. So losing Vladdy and getting prospects while pissing off free agents who WILL let it be know that this front office can not be trusted (al la former Florida Marlins owner )can’t remember his name)) vs. competing for at least one year and putting forth an image they are going to continue to put the best team on the field they can each year.
So this team with Vladdy vs this team with prospects and no Vladdy …..which sells more tickets and convinces FA they are trying to win?
I should state the Free Agents I am referring too are those that signed with Toronto on the premise that Vladdy would be here this year and the team were going to make an effort to resign him long term.
I think you’re over estimating this team by a lot Darth, Vlad or no Vlad they won’t be competing for the division this year.
On paper they are the fourth best team, and while anything can happen banking on everything going right and competing this year is not a winning strategy.
You may not need to get prospects, could get some MLB ready talent, especially if a team likes his evaluation and can get him on an extension as part of the trade
Dustey as a fan I am somewhat in ageement with you but from a baseball prospective I think they will do as I have suggested.
So as a fan i agree this should have been done years ago and Shatkins should have been fired years ago and the Blue Jays should have traded him for a haul (last year or the deadline) if they could not resign him, BUT the reality is they didn’t and here where are so now they have to do what has to be done… keep fans engaged (that includes casuals who don’t follow the team like us) and they have to make money.and trading Vladdy now will not do that for the reasons I suggested in my earlier post.
Most likely outcome is between the points 2 of you make. They will hope a highly motivated Vlad Jr plays at an MVP level first half…..and if the team isn’t realistically going to get a WC spot, he will be traded (along with a whole bunch of guys).
Darthyen
Respectfully, couldn’t disagree more.
Every day that Vlad isn’t traded now his price drops, and if it’s even remotely true that the two sides were nowhere near each other (and if Vlad is looking for $500M-plus, I’m actually on the team’s side here, since he’s simply not that player, regardless of his relative youth), then the team needs to deal him and get everything it possibly can for him now.
Because this team isn’t winning anything–TOR is very clearly the fourth-best team in the division, at best–and frankly, Santander and Co. will understand that this is just that: business, and a rather obvious bit of it, at that. (And if they don’t understand, then…oh well.)
Despite their best efforts on the FA front, everything with the Jays at this point just seems…off. So why continue down this particular drain, when you either take a few pennies on the dollar for Vlad (and perhaps Bichette) at the deadline or, far worse, lose them for nothing at season’s end? To do that would be organizational malpractice.
Vlad very publicly hung his “For Sale” sign this morning. It’s time to take that seriously, and move him now for what can be had…..
Comment you can disagree and that’s your right BUT you are missing the point of what I was saying and why I said it.. Baseball first and foremost is a business and owners will not do things that never make money.,.or at least that is their goal.
So trading Vladdy for prospects DOES make sense long term IF they did it before signing free agents this year. But they didn’t.
Ideally trading him last off season (assuming they could not sign him) or the very least last trade deadline would have been the best case scenario. It didn’t happen
So they signed FA with the premise that Vladdy was going to be here this year, with every effort to keep him beyond that. If you trade him now you are basically telling those FA that you lied and as an organization have zero credibility.That will make signing free agents beyond this year even more difficult because players talk and word gets around. Also a team with Vladdy has a better chance of being competitive than one which doesn’t.
The Blue Jays are a business and they want to make money, Not having a competitive team this year (regardless of what you think their chances of winning are) and not being able to attract free agents to put a competitive team on the field will not make them money now or in the future..
Darth
“If you trade him now you are basically telling those FA that you lied and as an organization have zero credibility.”
First of all, “those FA” aren’t FAs anymore; they’re Jays employees, being paid handsomely for their services. And while perhaps the team made it clear that it would make every effort to re-sign Vlad, the bottom line is that Vlad confirmed today that the two sides are FAR APART on a potential deal, and that he’s definitely going to FA now. For whatever reason, the Jays aren’t held in high esteem by FAs of late, other than to use as a massively wealthy stalking horse–something “those FA” also know. And to be frank, no one should care what Scherzer thinks (as a past-prime one-year-deal guy, who’s likely hopeful to post some good numbers on a not-so-good team and work a trade to a contender at the deadline), or to a lesser degree, what Hoffman or Santander (who didn’t so much as pick Toronto as he did end up there) think.
Seems fair to say that until there’s an organizational reboot, Toronto is always going to lag behind many other clubs as an attractive FA destination–and thus, the rebuild should begin while there’s still time.
If the Blue Jays want to simply roll out a team that’s not the league’s worst but nowhere near the league’s best, then…OK? I would argue better to signal to the fan base that they’re serious about building something new/better/sustainable, because otherwise, they’re just going to run out of Band-aids to slap on this team.
Because those FAs they signed can still help to keep the team somewhat competitive, while they set about actually competing on an annual basis in what looks like an ascendant AL East.
Because regardless of what a trade of Vlad would look like now, it’ll look much, MUCH worse when he (and perhaps also Bichette) leave for nothing.
Of course, as long as Shapiro/Atkins remain in power, it also seems that sideways is the only way this is going to go…..
@Darthyen..”Will let it be known that this front office cannot be trusted”…
Yeah, people think that Scott Boras only cares about getting the most MONEY for his clients. It’s little known that what Boras is really seeking during negotiations is a front office he can “trust”.
Most people don’t know that the reason that Juan Soto signed with the Mets has almost nothing to do with the $765M he was given. The whole thing was always about “trust”.
If they are in contention, Vlad stays. If they get off to a bad start, he’s trade fodder. If the players added didn’t understand how baseball works, that’s on them. Scherzer should understand after being on the Mets. Doesn’t seem to have prevented players form taking those NY $$$.
@Dary
Too late to worry about their reputation, times running out now. They know the terms Vlad is seeking, and if it’s beyond where they’re willing to go financially then they need to move him for as much as they can right now. There will be teams willing to trade for him with the risk he’ll walk after 1 year, and they’re some that’ll be willing to not only trade for him but to extend a high market value to him as if he were a FA hoping that indoctrinating him into their culture early might give them an advantage over other suitors.
Only choice
Really dumb not to unless they really feel like they can compete this season. He’s just way more valuable in trade right now especially if you aren’t even going to consider going above 500 for him
I honestly don’t even think he’s that valuable in trade. Most everybody has 1b covered, Tucker got a good haul but was 11 MM cheaper and a more valuable player/position. It’s just too late, they may as well wait till deadline to see where everybody at. He could still net a top 100 prospect + a lottery/low A gamble then.
At the very least, if they fall out of contention, look at all the trade chips. They compete or improve the team’s through trades.
A very good FO.
A good ownership.
They invest in MLB talent.
The key being a good FO and owner. Both are lacking here.
Hard to argue with what Roger’s has provided the last 5 years.
Highest payroll, massive investment in to spring training facility and the dome. No complaints about Rogers, other than too long of a leash for Shapiro/Atkins
I think that’s the correct analysis.
Toronto should take advantage of the timing here. They should take advantage of knowing at the start of spring training that he’ s going to be gone and trade him now when they can get the most for him. I can see the Sox and other teams with good farm systems paying a lot.
If they want to contend in the playoffs …..
How Dumb can they be by not extending him???
Takes two signatures.
So, a Toronto sell off at the deadline and then the front office is replaced at the end of the season?
Yep, trade Vlad for Devers and prospects, and solve problems for both Red Sox and Blue Jays.
He has refused to learn English above kindergarten level despite being born in Canada.
Let the BoSox deal with him.
Toronto can play Devers at 3B and almost anybody at 1B.
George Springer can DH.
Devers uses an interpreter too. Don’t see why his english matters.
Trade him, Jays, and get max value now.
Max value would have been last deadline. Trading him now makes the decision to hold him last deadline look awful. But holding him now just because of that is just doubling down on poor decision making.
Doubtful they were even entertaining trading him at the deadline. No team with money would. So max value is honestly now for them as it was for the Pads last offseason with Soto. Funny enough, the Pads might make for a good trade partner.
The Pads and Mariners because they want to add, have GMs who are willing to trade good prospects, and might not be able to afford Vlad’s salary so the Jays can leverage big returns by subsidizing Vlad’s salary.
Deadlines don’t necessarily bring the best value, yes teams get him for 2 runs but you’re also negotiating with far less teams.
generational fumble
This happened with Albert Pujols in 2011 as well. It’s normal, what’s rare is a good player staying with one club his whole career
I feel like Jays fans are acting like Vlad has been Pujols.
Last off-season fans weren’t all clamoring for him to sign an extension when he was fresh off his .818 OPS season, which was actually his 2nd best season mark as he had been in the .770-.795 range in 3 of his first 4 seasons. The huge 2021 where he hit 31 of his 48 at “home” where those games were played split between Florida spring training site, a AAA New York park and Toronto was sandwiched between 4 good not great seasons.
If he has another great season this year, the mediocre years will be written off as youthful development issues that are no concern now. If he has a mediocre season this year, then it’ll cost him a few hundred million dollars. No pressure.
Pete Alonso is holding on line 1….he says it’s important. Ahahahahahaha!
padre – Last offseason he was coming off a .788 OPS season, the .818 OPS season was 2022.
Great points about 2021 playing in Sahlen (1.180 OPS) and TD (1.418 OPS).
So basically his 2024 season was identical to his 2021 season.
Joey votto, Clayton Kershaw, Pete Alonzo, Barry Larkin, Derek Jeter are the rarities
May as well trade him and get something out of him. Never should have reached this point. They made big offers to Ohtani and Soto, but can’t keep a homegrown talent and could have been a franchise icon for them.
To be fair it sounds like they offered him crazy money. Do you think Vlad gets more than $450M in FA? maybe, but not by that much more. We dont have exact data but supposedly they offered over $400M. Keep in mind Ohtani only got like $460M in actual team invested bux
Where did you see they offered him over 400M? The last report I saw a month ago said by Vlad camp that Jays offer was in the 340M range. But nothing else concrete since then.
There are rumors he request a number change on his jersey to 500.
Someone will probably give him $400-$450 M for 10 or 11 years but I don’t see him getting more. I’m a Mets fan and I don’t even see Cohen and Stearns going more than that. I don’t think Stearns wanted to go that big for Soto but Cohen was driving that negotiation.
Hes not gonna get paid more than that. Hes an average at first base only bat. And, he’s always been overweight.
He’s not getting a 15 year contract. Bad call on his part. He better rake better than ever this year.
Vlad Jr dodged a bullet. Jays front office not capable of fielding a winning team. He’ll get paid handsomely elsewhere, and will thrive away from that dysfunctional atmosphere.
SoCal media has him coming to the Angels. Vlad Sr. works for the Halos and Jr. basically “grew up” in the Angels org. Arte will find a way to eff it up, but that’s apparently the current strategy.
The Angles always have one superstar surrounded by a bunch of old, broken or simply expensive guys who are in no position to support a playoff run. Trout and No One! Ohtani and an injured Trout! Injured Trout and Injured Rendon!!! May as well try Vlad and Old Trout, what the heck.
nuke – Arte will be competing with Cohen, and Cohen usually wins. Playing with his BFF Soto is also a huge draw for Vladdy.
I could see that. Angels need to find some way to continue holding the worst contracts in baseball. This would be a fitting replacement for Rendon.
Hope we lose the 1st 20 games and then trade him and Bo soon after to get as much back as possible. Would rather that than have him cripple the franchise. He is good but if $400M isn’t getting it done then move on. Sounds like he wants Soto money.
He deserves it; according to the current economic landscape.
no surprise at all once I found out he has Boreass as an agent
chrc – Where did you hear that? Magnus is his agent, not Boras …. unless something changed very recently.
No idea why he would sign now with the Jays.
The ideal time to resign him was when the Red Sox extended Devers at 10 x 315, even if Vlad wanted a couple of extra years, the AAV was around 31.
Last offseason Ohtani got 46 per season, which made Vlads value go to about 38 per, halfway between Devers and Ohtani.
This offseason Soto got over 50 per season.
So Vlads value is now closer to 45 million.
Both the Yanks and Mets will be looking for a first basemen next year.
Jays front office botched this negotiation years ago
You, sir, are totally right.
Nope, he’s too much of a risk. Blue Jays handled it right. Trade him or watch him crawl back and beg.
He’s coming to the Meta next year.
Book it.
Zuckerberg will not be outbid….
Trade him immediately and then fire the entire front office. Disgraceful.
Toronto should pay him whatever he wants and then trade everyone not named VGJ to build a team around him. Probably too late though …
Trade him to Boston for Trey Ball and Sam Travis!
that’ll never get it done. Any trade needs to start with Allen Webster, Henry Owens, and Brian Johnson. Maybe dangle Bryce Brentz too
Straight up for Devers
So Vlad set a deadline, but it’s not really a deadline? Such negotiating power.
He’s playing out his contract. What else is there? If they show up with a wheelbarrow full of cash he’ll obviously take it, and if they don’t he’ll leave. The deadline is mostly to amuse you in the offseason since the team is going to team and the player is going to play. There was no threat of hold-out or anything substantial here.
He said he won’t negotiate during the season, what is confusing
If they back up the truck, he may take it. Negotiating is a back and forth. He’s told them what he wants. If they want to keep him, they’ll have to pay every penny of his ask.
So no negotiation in the season then. Nothings changed
He won’t, but his agent will pick up the phone on his behalf.
He said today he’d listen to in-season offers, so the deadline wasn’t a deadline.
Shapiro has blown this badly. For years telling all fans and sponsors that Vlad is their guy and the future of the organization. Yet, never bought out any arbitration or free agent years. Made sure everyone knew they offered Soto $600 million which only increases Vlad’s ask. If they don’t bring him back, it makes EVERYTHING that Shaprio has said during his tenure a lie, and it shows the rest of MLB that the organization does not value its star players. It makes no difference if you like Vlad as a player or if he is “worth it” as a player, from an organizational perspective, not bringing him back derails this organization for 15 to 20 years.
I love Vlad but he’s not in the same ballpark as Soto.
Soto has never had an average year, ever. It’s a high priced signing but relatively low risk.
Vlad has had multiple seasons where he was painfully average. There is way more risk with a long term deal for Vlad than there was for Soto.
If Vlad has another .800 OPS year in 25, he will be looking at more of an Alonso type deal vs a Soto type one
I don’t think there’s any world where he slips to the Alonso side of the scale. Even with a down season. If he was coming over from NPB where you would be valuing him based on the measurable tools and skills beneath the surface results at his age, do you think there aren’t teams willing to make big bets? Similarly, I think there are teams that will make those bets based on the abilities more than the results in MLB with him.
He was a 1.3 war player with 118 Wrc+ in 2023, Pete has never had a full season below 121wrc+ and 2.1 WAR.
If Vlad has a 2023 type season he will be much closer to the Alonso evaluation than the Soto. No team is going to give him 10 years when his performance has that much fluctuation
I still think you are referencing a great range of outcomes over multiple years. Like mutual funds that might decrease in value over any one year period but are safe bets to increase in value over a three year period.
This is a bit of mental gymnastics, but I’m disregarding his age 20 and 21 seasons as players like Alonso and Judge were still in college then while Vlad was developing in the majors and holding his own as an above average major league hitter at that time. After that you have a floor of 118 wRC+ with a good 133 and two excellent 165, and 166 wRC+ seasons. Even in his 118 wRC+ season, the underlying metrics were great. It was a .378 xwOBA. It’s the only season where his xwOBA was noticeably higher than his actual wOBA. So even if we want to use his .351 xwOBA from ‘22 as the floor, that season saw a perfectly matching actual wOBA that translated to a 132 wRC+. That’s a really high floor for a player who has also had seasons with xwOBAs over .400. You’re not making the investment with a short window to tap into the ceiling. Of course there will be better and worse years over the course of the many prime seasons he still has to offer a team. The floor is still very high for the ceiling he has and the multiple opportunities to hit that ceiling.
Granted even though the market doesn’t value good surface numbers when the underlying doesn’t support it, doesn’t necessarily make the opposite true. Teams don’t generally buy high on under the surface without actual results in line with them, but at Vlad’s age, I think they will.
Jays had a chance to extend him before Soto signed. They screwed that up.
The decision is balancing a risk that someone like Soto moves the market on them (which happened) vs Vlad playing poorly enough to become affordable (which did not happen) or prove that he’s no longer the guy who put up those huge seasons of his youth (again, did not happen.) So now he’s really worth what he was asking and the cost of top talent has leapt preposterously upwards and the gamble to delay a year has failed.
The next choice then becomes how to address the coming CBA war after 2026. If there’s an extended outage are they better off rebuilding during the strike? Do they want $200m on the books when there’s a chance the money shifts around to their detriment? Cynical me says rich teams will protect their money and they’ll do what they want, but even more cynical me thinks they’ll try to save some cash if they think things might get ugly.
Yeah, absolutely agree there. Extremely poor timing = extremely poor management? Or did Team Vlad put the brakes on any deals until after Soto signed? That I would love to know. Just out of curiosity.
This front office botched this by waiting too long but Vlads career has not been a straight line so it’s probably been hard to put a price tag on it.
That being said, it shouldn’t be hard to make him the highest paid 1B in the league, but that may not be enough after he saw the Soto contract. If he’s asking for 450+ it simply doesn’t make sense for the jays, or most teams to pay that to someone stuck to 1B.
Vlad is also taking a big risk here, when he’s had to carry the offense or in high pressure situations, he chases and grips the bat a bit tight, if he has another 2023 it will take hundreds of millions out of his next deal.
Anyways, sad to say it’s time to trade him, can’t risk losing him for a comp pick when his value is this high.
They will wait to trade him until the deadline to see where they are in the playoff picture.
Too much risk.
If he gets hurt around then he can’t be traded, or if he gets off to a slow start his value will drop.
Also run the risk of being close to a wild card spot and thinking it’s best to keep him, like what happened with the Angels and Ohtani.
Rip off the bandaid now
Let’s replace Atkins before we trade Vladdy. Atkins cannot be trusted any further.
They wont trade him as Atkins’ contract expires at season’s end. A contending year and a few prospects developing might save his job.
If they trade him now and he might as well start packing the contents of his desk into a box.
The correct move would be to fire Atkins now, and get another GM who might be able to salvage the Vlad situation, have a decent draft, and do the deadline teardown
They’ll still be able to get a good haul for him at the deadline. Can’t wave the white flag til later in the season cuz of fan revenue….
And if he gets hurt? What did the jays get back for Donaldson ?
Jullian Merriweather and they kick in 3M. The winning move was to hold onto Donaldson and qualify him at the end of the season.
The winning move would have been to trade him a year before
They certainly aren’t going to flush all that fan revenue down the toilet for a bunch of prospects….
What do you think is going to happen next year ?
Happening regardless. Trying to delay the inevitable….
If you trade him now for Devers you lock in fans….
Let the bidsing begin
Not worth 400k for a 1b. He’s not worth more than Devers. Ohtani and Soto are unicorns and at another level.
I would even argue Soto shouldn’t have been a unicorn, but he only was due to his age and success already. His contract literally won’t age well after about 4 or 5 years.
Soto was the new shiny toy that Cohen overpaid for. Ohtani is getting paid with investments, so he really dint get that much over the top-tier guys. Vlad Jr is looking at $500 mil tops without deferrals. Be a while til someone sniffs Soto money again….
Another long term contract that won’t age well waiting to happen!
It’s hilarious to read the same comments about how the front office is trash and shatkins should be fired.
Do you think there’s a button they can just push to sign Vlad to a contract extension WITHOUT him hitting free agency?
HE WAS SET TO HIT FREE AGENCY NO MATTER WHAT!
People, please understand that!
These top level guys have no control until this point in their careers and you think they’re going to pass it up?! Not a chance!
Betts, trout, machado, lindor, tatis, Devers, Stanton, Cabrera, votto, Ramirez etc etc
Lots of players passed up going to free agency, you’re wrong as usual.
There is no magic button that part is correct but the fact that they are in this situation is 100% on them. If they had no intention of signing him long term, which is fair, he should have been moved off the roster for younger, cheaper players.
Now you run the very real risk of losing a franchise player for just a comp pick, like everything else this FO touches, it’s worst case scenario
“Betts, trout, machado, lindor, tatis, Devers, Stanton, Cabrera, votto, Ramirez etc etc”
Which is the most recently signed contract extension? Do you think mlb will see guys re-signing more or less often? Also, a few of those guys “re-signed” after being traded so it’s not exactly like one team careers. But you knew that.
They still didn’t test free agency.
Ramirez, Acuna, albies and devers signed extensions while Vlad was in the mlb, those teams focused on locking up their franchise players. jays FO didn’t.
jays have signed 2 extensions since this FO came together, Berrios and Grichuk lol
Realistic offer? Realistic like beauty, is in the eye if the beholder.
Welcome to the New York Mets!!!!
It’s a sad situation. The Jays will now be joining a majority of owners voting for a lock out in 2027.
However, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. does not expect to reach his toes when bends at the waist.
Maybe if you put a donut down there on the ground next to his toes
If reports were true and they offered 340 million and he didn’t take it then as a devout jays fan I’m okay they didn’t sign him. I would like if they would trade him however, but we will see what happens there.
He has not been a winner, (unlike Soto) he has been frustratingly unprofessional at times, including showing up 60 pounds over weight the first season, and pimping home runs in 8-1 losses etc. Not knowing what he’s like the clubhouse, but he hasn’t really grasp the English language and I’m sure that don’t help much either.
The second half of your post is insane, go touch some grass. Thank goodness people who think like you are dying out
Alotta the foreign players just use an interpreter, because it’s comfortable and easier. Don’t hafta think and search for the words in your head to express an idea. Trying to be multilingual is hard, man….
I just figure it’s hard to be a leader if you can’t talk freely and openly with your teammates. Also, your market is English, don’t you think that’s good for your brand? I get it’s hard, so is staying shape, and being professional, but if you want top dollar, well then in my opinion you need to check all the boxes.
A good chunk of the team speaks Spanish.
His English also isn’t bad, just doesn’t want to do interviews in his second language
Step 1: remove Shapiro and Atkins
Step 2: add a new POBO and GM
Step 3: trade everyone, including Vlad.
2 words: Dodgers Deferral
What team is going to make that mistake next offseason?
“Guerrero noted he “would not close the door” on signing if Toronto brass presented him with a “realistic” offer”
So you’re telling me there’s a chance…
There’s no need to trade him now. If they’re out or contention in late July, then okay, but now.
Between Vlad playing for a potentially gargantuan contract and Bichette motivated to bounce back and also seeking a big payday, and with Santander on hand, they have a chance to compete this year. That’s worth holding onto Vlad to see how the season plays out.
If the Jays are in fourth place with a sub-.500 record come July 25, then they can look to fleece a contender. Really, how much different would the return be if they traded Vlad now to a team that’s not feeling the urgency, versus a team at the deadline that is more likely to throw caution to the wind when trying to secure Vlad’s services for 2-plus months?
And if they are 3 GB of the last wild card spot? What then? Or if he gets hurt and can’t be traded.
Are you going to take that risk and end up with almost nothing back?
Jays’ front office is out-of-touch.
Oh no the super inconsistent 300lb first basemen wants to go to free agency. I’d be stoked about this if I was a jays fan. This should make it pretty easy to trade him as early as possible and get some decent prospects back
I am beyond angry with Blue Jays management. Pathetic and incapable. I don’t know what else to say.
Devers and Yoshida for Vlad Jr.
As much as many Jays fans may hate to hear this, letting him walk is probably the smart thing to do. If he really is asking for 350+ million that feels like a very steep overpay. Don’t get me wrong I think Vladdy is a fantastic young player, but he seems to alternate between seasons that are elite, to some seasons that are just pretty good. If he hits like last year for the length of the contract then sure, he is worth it. But I don’t see the consistent track record that shows that he will be that guy.
Fools gold for whatever team decides to severely overpay him.
Let’s see if the Yankees put together something to bring him into play Third this year
I doubt the Jays trade him to the Yankees.
Yanks traded all of their chips for Soto. They have 1 prospect left in the top 100. Not to mention Vlad ain’t signing there, he hates the Yanks… bitter history with his dad.
He gone.
Dodgers
The league leader over the past 4 years in GIDP wants a record contact.
Top 5 GIDP of all time list
Pujols
Cabrera
Ripken
Ivan Rodriguez
Aaron
Dodgers 10 year 600mil. 580 deferred
mets 1-4 in the lineup next yr
lindor, vientos, soto, vladdy
I can see the Dodgers moving on from Freeman and the last three years of that contract for Vlad
@youjust
yeah but as you have proved over and over again you don’t know what you are talking about. I have seen your ridiculous trade proposals on the Giants thread and your otherworldly posts on the Padres thread.
They have the money to throw around for Soto and Ohtani, but not for their homegrown Vladdy? Yikes.
Those guys don’t have problems with overeating lol.
I am very curious to see what he does this season given the stakes. It’s always interesting to see how things can change in a year.
Yes!
The risk/reward in NOT going giving Vlad $ is a no brainer.
He’s only had 2 good years and with his body type, he’ll regress fast. Plus there’s injuries as he puts the weight back on.
(He’s only looking like this for the contract)
He loves food and once he’s signed there’s nothing the Jays can do about his eating. At $40M a year! No thanks.
The first 3-5 years could be great but, the last 7 will be the worst contract in baseball.
*Everyone will be going…Why did they sign him for 450M?
Trade NOW and get some real value, not the deadline when he’s just a 2 month rental.
At no point did I ever think he actually intended to sign an extension before reaching free agency unless the Jays offered him a contract approaching Soto money. Whatever their highest offer was will be his floor when he starts negotiating with other teams.
With that said though, it’s still very much time for the Jays to can Shapiro and Atkins.
Trade him now. Boston is going to run the division for years and even if the Orioles continue to cry poor, they’ll still be competitive for the next few seasons. Load up on young players, the books are going to be very wide open after 2026 for additions.
I wonder if he’ll come to Seattle. The Mariners would give him the best chance at winning a World Series.
can be mad at the jays for not locking him up earlier, that was definitely a mistake. but at this point, if he wants 450mil+, i dont think you can fault the jays for walking away.. that’s way too much for just a hitter.
before anyone brings up soto and ohtani – soto was definitely an overpay. ohtani is not an overpay since a lot is deferred and from what the dodgers have said, he brought in 70mil+ in revenue alone so his contract is easily justifiable from both standpoints.
if vladdy had been posting elite numbers for 5 years straight then maybe you can argue it, but he has only done it for 2 seasons and plays 1b, i dont think 450mil+ is reasonable, even 400 seems excessive.
jays should’ve locked him up earlier but they didn’t which was their mistake but walking away from a 450mil demand doesn’t seem to egregious..
Trade Bo and Vlad Jr now. Neither want to stay anyways.