Reflecting on the year, Blue Jays Nation is taking a look at some of the articles that sparked interest amongst the readers and fans and counting down the most-viewed stories from the site.
Kicking off the countdown is an article from Cam Lewis regarding a radio interview ESPN insider Jeff Passan had on Sportsnet 590 the Fan back in August, where the famed baseball insider was singing a different tune after a recent interview for the radio station had him issuing a new statement.
“I need to come in with responses to what I said last week on the show when I said I don’t think Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is going to be a $300 million first baseman because I don’t think a $300 million first baseman exists. I heard from a couple of people in the industry who said ‘you’re a moron, go look at the numbers.’
Somebody made a very good comparison that I hadn’t thought of — Rafael Devers. He’s one of the best players in baseball, he plays third base, I don’t think Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is going to be a third baseman long-term, but the expectation was that Rafael Devers was going to eventually move to first base.
You can make the argument that Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is on the same level when it comes to hitting. The bat and the age are going to make it such that $300 million is going to be the floor rather than the ceiling.”
The response from Passan was issued after he noted a week earlier on Sportsnet’s radio station that first basemen aren’t likely to receive high offers in free agency based on positional value, regardless of whether they are power types or not. Passan also noted that a reasonable comparison for Guerrero Jr’s next deal would be what Pete Alonso would sign for this winter, with the former Mets slugger and first baseman still a free agent at the time of writing.
The comparison between Alonso and Guerrero has some merit on a few different levels – both are first basemen, bat-first type of players, and both right-handed bats can hit the ball a long way – but there are some key differences between the pair.
Alonso is roughly four years older than Guerrero and when the Montreal-born Blue Jays slugger hits free agency next year, he will be just 26 years old compared to Alonso, who just turned 30 this winter. As well, Guerrero is the more versatile player on the field, as Alonso has never played a game outside of first base or the DH spot while the Jays have used Guerrero at the hot corner both early in his career and at times over the past couple of seasons. That being said, Alonso does edge Guerrero on career DRS (+2 vs. -6) and has two Gold Glove Awards compared to Guerrero’s lone win.
Offensively, the two are split between a few different categories:
Pete Alonso vs. Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
PlayerAgeGPARH2B3BHRRBISBCSBBSOBAOBPSLGOPSOPS+
Pete Alonso
24-29
846
3607
493
781
142
7
226
586
17
2
358
822
.249
.339
.514
.854
134
Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
20-25
819
3540
475
905
177
6
160
507
20
10
349
551
.288
.363
.500
.863
137
Provided by Stathead.com: Found with Stathead. See Full Results.
Both players have an edge depending on who you ask – Alonso has more home runs and RBIs but fewer hits and is more prone to strikeouts while Guerrero doesn’t hit the long ball as much but gets on base at a higher clip. Both are pretty similar in OPS+ at the end of the day but have slightly different power-hitting profiles.
Lewis also noted Guerrero Jr. and his conversation with MLB.com at the All-Star festivities in regards to a contract extension before he hits free agency following the 2025 season. The two sides were not particularly close.
It’s a back-and-forth game that continues to drag on, as Guerrero and the Blue Jays are still at odds over a long-term deal. Fans want the two sides to figure it out and each day that passes, the more likely the Jays are going to have to contend with Guerrero testing free-agent waters next winter.