The Toronto Blue Jays and franchise player Vladimir Guerrero Jr. did not reach a long-term contract extension prior to Guerrero’s self-imposed deadline Monday, the slugger told reporters Tuesday morning from spring training camp in Dunedin. Guerrero had previously said he will not discuss a new contract once the team’s full squad workouts begin Tuesday. He is scheduled to become a free agent after the season.
“I’m here. We didn’t get an agreement,” Guerrero said through an interpreter. “Now, they’re going to have to compete with 29 other teams.”
Guerrero said the two sides were working until 10:30 p.m. Monday but were unable to find a deal.
“They had their numbers, I had my numbers,” he said. “It’s just business, like I always say. Things happen. We’re all good.”
Guerrero, 26 next month, will be the best and youngest free agent on the market this coming offseason. He is coming off a terrific 2024 season, one that saw him hit .323/.396/.544 with 44 doubles and 30 home runs. That earned him his fourth straight All-Star selection and a sixth-place finish in the MVP voting. Guerrero was the AL MVP runner-up in 2021.
“Obviously very disappointed,” GM Ross Atkins told reporters Tuesday. “We worked very hard. The motivation is still there. Confident that every thought, idea we had, every dollar that we had was communicated. But we’re obviously disappointed to not have gotten that done.”
While Atkins declined to reveal any specifics on his offer, he said he was “confident that we exhausted the communication, the ideas, the thoughts and communicated every dollar and felt that (agent Barry Praver) and Vlad got to the point that they were comfortable as well.”
Team president Mark Shapiro said the club “went past our value because we cared so deeply about him and wanted to have him here.”
Juan Soto’s record 15-year, $765 million contract with the New York Mets raised the salary bar for star players in their mid-20s. Vlad Jr. is not Soto, but he is pretty much the next best thing, and the Blue Jays are desperate. They’ve had trouble convincing free agents to take their money the last few years. Losing their homegrown franchise player would be devastating.
In December, Guerrero confirmed the Blue Jays offered a $340 million contract that was “not even close to what we’re looking for.” The offer was made before Soto’s contract changed the landscape. Contracts for star players take them through age 39 or 40 these days (Soto, Mookie Betts, Aaron Judge, Manny Machado, etc.). That means at least a 13-year deal for Guerrero.
Monday’s deadline was self-imposed and the thing about self-imposed deadlines is they’re flexible. The Blue Jays could approach Guerrero about a new deal at some point in the coming weeks, just in case he changes his mind, though the slugger did say Tuesday that he doesn’t intend to negotiate during the season. His family presumably does not need the money given his and his father’s careers, allowing Guerrero to play hardball.
The Blue Jays went 74-88 in 2024, their worst record since 2019. They tried and failed to sign several prominent free agents this offseason (Soto, Corbin Burnes, Max Fried, etc.) before pivoting to Anthony Santander, Max Scherzer, and Jeff Hoffman.
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