The Toronto Blue Jays have pursued Shohei Ohtani and Juan Soto in MLB free agency in the past two years only to fall short. If they want to prevent All-Star first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. from leaving, it will take a deal that makes him one of the highest-paid MLB players ever.
Guerrero, age 25, is a Canadian native who has expressed interest in spending his entire career in a Blue Jays uniform. However, he already turned down a $340 million contract offer from the franchise and seemingly doesn’t intend on signing an extension before next season.
While his potential earning power is diminished some by his offensive inconsistency and the lack of value placed league-wide in first baseman, the Blue Jays will have to give out by far their longest contract in franchise history to prevent him from leaving.
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic writes that “a deal in the $500 to $600 million range” is probably more in line with the type of offer it will take to land Guerrero Jr. While some fans have suggested he belongs more in he $400 million range, his age and potential are expected to push it above $500 million if he hits MLB free agency.
He finished the 2023 season with just a .788 OPS, the third time in six years that he recorded a sub-.800 OPS. However, Guerrero Jr. took off in the second half of the 2024 season with a .342/.418/.624 triple-slash line and 1.042 OPS from July 2 to Sept. 29.
