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Vladimir Guerrero Jr.: The Blue Jays haven’t been close to the amount he wants
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Photo credit: © Dan Hamilton - USA Today
Ryley Delaney
Dec 22, 2024, 17:30 ESTUpdated: Dec 22, 2024, 18:24 EST
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It’s never a great sign when your franchise player says a contract extension isn’t even close to what he wants.
However, that’s exactly what Toronto Blue Jays first baseman, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. said in a lengthy interview with Abriendo Sports released on Sunday morning.
The soundbite comes in the second clip after he was asked what is happening with Toronto, with Guerrero Jr. saying the Jays haven’t offered him anywhere close to what his camp is looking for. Other interesting notes from the interview note that he was offered a seven-year, $150 million extension after the 2021 season, but declined that. The most recent offer was an extension worth $340 million that came after the Soto deal. Thankfully, the Jays aren’t out of time, even though they’ll have to up their offer, as he’s open to negotiating until the beginning of training camp. Big thanks to Iván Comprés for translating that.
Another interesting tidbit from the interview is that Guerrero Jr. said he’s “ready to go” on a contract extension if the deal is right. You can read this as he wants to play in Toronto, but they have to pay him the money he wants to do so.
Ben Nicholson-Smith
Ben Nicholson-Smith
@bnicholsonsmith
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Speaking to @AbriendoSports Vlad Guerrero Jr. says he’s been discussing a possible extension w/ Blue Jays & is “ready to go” on a long-term deal for the right offer. Also: he says he doesn’t plan to negotiate after 1st full day of spring training & Jays front office knows this

Abriendo Sports
Abriendo Sports
@AbriendoSports

¡DISPONIBLE YAAAA! 🔥🚨 Todos para YouTube ▶️ Conversación MILLONARIA con nuestro gran Vladdy Jr. 💪🏽🇩🇴 Entrevista COMPLETA 📢 cutt.ly/PeNLcMdH

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Last season, Guerrero Jr. slashed .323/.396/.544 with 30 home runs in 697 plate appearances for a 165 wRC+ and a 5.5 fWAR. In 2021, shortly before he was offered that $150 million extension, he slashed .311/.401/.601 with 48 home runs in 698 plate appearances for a 166 WRC+ and a 6.3 fWAR.
Those are by far his two best seasons in the big leagues, with a good season in 2022 and a mediocre season, at least by his standards, in 2023. Because of those two seasons, as well as his 2019 and 2020 seasons, it’s hard to pin down how much his extension is worth after being rather inconsistent throughout his career.
The issue is when Guerrero Jr. is at his best, he’s one of the best hitters in the league. He noted after the 2023 season he was dealing with injuries, which explained why he had a 118 wRC+ that season.
At the end of the day, Guerrero Jr. is by far the Blue Jays’ best player and he’s openly stated repeatedly he’d like to stay in Toronto. While it’ll cost the Blue Jays a pretty penny, they have more than enough to get it done, as they offered mega deals to both Shohei Ohtani and Juan Soto in the 2023 off-season and the 2024 off-season respectively.
Remember last season when it was projected that Soto would make about $500 million with his contract? Several teams needed the superstar and bidding rose to where the 26-year-old received the largest contract in not just baseball’s history, but in sports history.
While Guerrero Jr. won’t make that much money, if he hits the open market after the 2025 season, several teams that missed out on Soto will offer him the money he wants. Who knows how high the bidding will go, but the Blue Jays have an opportunity to forgo that process and lock him up long-term.
They have to extend him, or another long rebuild is coming.
As always, you can follow me on Bluesky @ryleydelaney.bsky.social.

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