Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. reaffirmed on Saturday that he will consider every team when he reaches free agency this winter. While that may not sound like a revelation, it’s further evidence that Guerrero has moved off comments he made years ago indicating he would never play for the New York Yankees based on an experience he had with his father.
“If I go to free agency, every team — all 30 teams — are going to have the opportunity to sit down with [me], to talk to me,” Guerrero told the New York Post through an interpreter. “I’m OK with everything. It’s in the past.”
For reference, Guerrero said the following in 2022: “I like to play in New York. I like to kill the Yankees. I would never sign with the Yankees, not even (when I’m) dead,” He had on multiple occasions since echoed that he would not consider the Yankees. “It goes back with my family,” he said at one point. “That’s my decision, and I will never change that.”
And yet, Guerrero had already softened his stance heading into last summer’s trade deadline, when he explained that he would play for whatever team he ended up on because “this is a business.” It sure is, and even if Guerrero remains adamant about not playing for the Yankees, it only makes sense for him to present himself as being open to the possibility. The Yankees are, after all, one of the league’s financial powerhouses. Their involvement in the bidding process can only benefit Guerrero, no matter how serious he is (or isn’t) about joining their ranks.
Guerrero, 25, is expected to be the top free agent available this winter. He’s a career .288/.363/.500 hitter (137 OPS+) who has validated those old comparisons to Miguel Cabrera. Guerrero figures to benefit from being the closest thing to an elite hitter the market will feature in the near future. That could result in a contract worth between $400 and $500 million. CBS Sports’ Matt Snyder recently ranked the Yankees as one of the two teams who made the most sense for Guerrero. New York will employ Paul Goldschmidt at the cold corner this season, but lacks a long-term solution there. Guerrero, if both parties are open to it, could solve that problem.
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