Throughout the offseason, the CBS Sports MLB experts will bring you a weekly Batting Around roundtable breaking down pretty much anything. The latest news, a historical question, thoughts about the future of baseball, all sorts of stuff. Last week we picked our favorite offseason moves. This week we’re going to tackle Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s future.
Vlad Jr. will be on what team on Opening Day 2026?
R.J. Anderson: I think you can make an argument for the Blue Jays, Cubs, Nationals, Giants, and some other clubs. I’m going with a little more off-the-wall answer to spice up things: the Phillies. They have a lot of money coming off the books this winter, including in the persons of Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto. The former’s exit could create some optionality with Bryce Harper, perhaps opening up first base for a new face. The Phillies alway seem willing to spend money and Dave Dombrowski is no stranger to ponying up for bat-first profiles. I’m not saying it’s particularly likely or anything, but if you squint you can see a pathway for the Phillies to emerge and land Guerrero this winter.
Matt Snyder: I like the Red Sox here, assuming they don’t commit long-term to Alex Bregman — which would shift Rafael Devers across the diamond to first base. Given their deep pockets, the Red Sox don’t have a ton of long-term deals that would preclude them from being the highest bidder for Guerrero’s services and his bat would age beautifully in Fenway Park. He’s already got enough familiarity in the AL East for it to be a natural transition.
Mike Axisa: I really do think he’s going to stay with the Blue Jays. That doesn’t necessarily mean they will extend him before his self-imposed Feb. 18 deadline — the Blue Jays might have to win a free-agent bidding war after the season — but I think he ultimately stays in Toronto. The Blue Jays have money to spend. Their problem is getting players to take it, and with Vlad Jr., they have something of a home field advantage in that he already knows the organization, what it’s like playing in Canada, etc. I think that will help get them across the finish line (as will a giant bag of cash). The Nationals are my sleeper team. We know they can spend big on free agents, as they’ve done it plenty over the years, and Guerrero is young enough that his peak aligns nicely with Washington’s core of CJ Abrams, Dylan Crews, James Wood, et al. He makes a lot of sense for them.
Dayn Perry: Vlad’s a fit for a lot of teams, and he’s going to be quite young as free agents go, which will mean a heated market. I’ll say the Texas Rangers get back in spending mode as they get further removed from their local broadcast troubles and land him as their first baseman for years to come. The trade of Nathaniel Lowe to the Nationals means they have a stop-gap arrangement for now in Jake Burger. He’s not the long-term solution, and Guerrero Jr. would give them a middle-of-the-lineup presence for the coming decade or so.
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