Vladimir Guerrero Jr. should be in a Blue Jays uniform for the rest of his career. (Elsa/Getty Images)
(Elsa via Getty Images)
The Toronto Blue Jays aren’t letting Vladimir Guerrero Jr. go.
The Blue Jays struck a 14-year, $500 million extension with their star Sunday, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal. The reported deal doesn’t include any deferrals.
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The deal is now the second largest in major league history in present value, behind only Juan Soto’s $765 million deal with the New York Mets. Shohei Ohtani signed a $700 million, 10-year deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers, but that deal contains significant deferrals.
Guerrero, 26, will now be with the Blue Jays through the end of the 2039 season. He’ll be 40 at that point, so this extension could effectively keep him in Toronto for the rest of his MLB career.
Guerrero has been with the Blue Jays since the beginning, and he reportedly didn’t want to leave, despite the possibility of him hitting free agency at the end of this season. The team signed him when he was just 16 years old out of the Dominican Republic, and he was born in Canada while his father, Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero Sr., played with the Montreal Expos. The younger Guerrero has been a solid star for the organization since he made his MLB debut in 2019.
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The four-time All-Star had a .323 batting average with 30 home runs and 103 RBI last season, though the team posted a 74-88 record and missed the playoffs. Guerrero has a .286 batting average with four RBI and 10 hits through nine games so far this season.
Guerrero and the Jays were working on this extension during the offseason, but the two sides went past their initial February deadline to get a deal done. Guerrero reportedly broke off talks with the team ahead of spring training but didn’t completely shut them down. He had reportedly made it known that he wanted $500 million.
With this new deal, it appears the Blue Jays gave their star exactly what he was asking for. While it’s unclear what would’ve happened if Guerrero had hit the open market, the team clearly didn’t want to take that chance. Instead, the Blue Jays now know they can build around him for years to come.
Whether Guerrero will be the man to lead the Blue Jays to their first World Series title since 1993 remains to be seen.
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