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The extended negotiations between the Blue Jays and their star first baseman appear to be nearing a conclusion, one week into the regular season.
According to Mike Rodriguez, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and the Blue Jays are "very close" to an agreement on a contract extension that will keep Guerrero in Toronto for "more than $500 million."
According to @mikedeportes Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Toronto Blue Jays are very close to reach an extension agreement of more than $500 million dollars. https://t.co/4HWOuY9UEz
— Héctor Gómez (@hgomez27) April 4, 2025
The negotiations between the two sides appeared to reach an end when Guerrero did not accept the Blue Jays' offer by his self-imposed February deadline. Both Guerrero and Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro gave multiple public interviews afterward speaking of their negotiations in the past tense.
Atkins says the #BlueJays made Vladimir Guerrero Jr. offers that would have been “record setting”…
— Keegan Matheson (@KeeganMatheson) February 18, 2025
Asked what records… he clarified:
“Blue Jays records. And would have been one of the highest-paid players in the game.”
Yet they also left open the possibility of extending talks into the season, despite Guerrero's previous insistence on not doing so.
More news: All-Star, Silver Slugger Winner Agrees to $135 Million Extension
While the Blue Jays have been quick to offer Guerrero (among others) deferral-laden contracts that lower their present-day monetary value, Guerrero is seeking $500 million according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.
Ross Atkins on not managing to extend Guerrero: "Obviously very disappointed. 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."
— Shi Davidi (@ShiDavidi) February 18, 2025
For comparison's sake, Juan Soto's record-setting $765 million, 15-year contract with the New York Mets did not contain any deferred money. Shohei Ohtani's 10-year, $700 million contract signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers in Dec. 2023 contained so much deferred money, its present-day value was calculated at $437,830,563 by the MLB Players Association ($460.8 million by MLB).
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"I know the business," Guerrero told ESPN. "I lowered the salary demands a bit, but I also lowered the number of years. ... I'm looking for 14 [years]. I would like 14, 15, even 20 if they give them to me, but doing it the right way."
Guerrero, 26, is eligible for free agency after the 2025 season.
The Jays entered the offseason highly motivated to not let Guerrero reach free agency when he's able to solicit bids from all 30 teams — a tactic players commonly use to drive up their earning potential. By signing him to a long-term contract extension, the Jays would have an obvious franchise cornerstone to build around for years to come.
Owner of a career .287/.362/.499 slash line, Guerrero is coming off a season in which he hit 30 home runs and drove in 103 while cutting his strikeout rate and appearing in 159 games for Toronto.
Guerrero is 6 for 27 (.222) with three RBIs and three doubles in his first seven regular-season games of 2025. The Blue Jays recently signed catcher Alejandro Kirk to an extension worth $58 million over five years, and could perhaps look to re-sign shortstop Bo Bichette — a free agent at year's end — if and when they sign Guerrero.
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J.P. Hoornstra writes and edits Major League Baseball content. A veteran of 20 years of sports coverage for daily newspapers ... Read more