The Toronto Blue Jays and impending free agent Vladimir Guerrero Jr. have reportedly come to terms on a 14 year, $500M contract extension.
The deal, which will essentially make the 26 year old a Blue Jay for life, is currently pending the results of a physical. Guerrero’s new contract shatters the franchise record for the most money ever given out to a single player, easily surpassing George Springer’s previous record of $150M over 6 years.
Overall, the $500M figure is the 3rd richest all-time behind Shohei Ohtani ($700M) and Juan Soto ($765M), and 8th largest in terms of AAV ($35.71M). It also puts an end to an ongoing saga in which the front office and Guerrero’s camp couldn’t get on the same page, despite pleas from the fanbase to get a deal done.
When talks broke down in February, Guerrero told reporters that he was turning his attention to the season ahead and not his upcoming extension. A remark which sent shockwaves of panic through the Jays faithful who had seen their team be the runner up to Juan Soto, Shohei Ohtani, and Roki Sasaki in recent years.
He did however add that “I won’t close the door if it’s a realistic offer.” Evidently that door never closed as Toronto’s front office eventually met Guerrero’s camp on common ground to get the deal done.
The Dominican slugger was named to his 4th All-Star game in 2024 after hitting .323 with 30HRs, 103 RBIs, and 98 runs scored. Currently off to a slow start to 2025 (.256 BA, 3 runs scored, 4 RBIs, 0 HRs), one would assume that with this massive piece of business out of the way, Guerrero Jr. can now give his full undivided attention to helping the Blue Jays reach the postseason.
Up next for Toronto is a 4 game series against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. The series opener kicks off Monday at 6:45pm ET.
Photo: Erik Drost. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.