Blue Jays Reportedly Prepping Massive $600M Offer For Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
The Toronto Blue Jays haven’t given up on signing Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to a contract extension. The two sides failed to reach a deal before spring training, an impasse that initially made it seem like Guerrero would be traded or hit free agency. However, a new update from MLB insider Hector Gomez indicates the Blue Jays still could lock up their franchise slugger. “Source:
The Blue Jays are planning to make a new offer to Vladimir Guerrero Jr., which will be close to what he is looking for,” Gomez wrote Monday on the X platform. “According to the source, the Jays’ offer would be in the range of 14-15 years and $550-600 million.”
If Gomez’s report is true, Toronto might have a good shot at persuading Guerrero to stick around. Guerrero recently told ESPN that he asked for a contract worth less than $600 million over fewer than 14 years. A subsequent report claimed Guerrero set an asking price of roughly $500 million.
So, a 14-year, $600 million from the Blue Jays might be enough, but we’ll just have to wait and see. Guerrero, 26, established himself as one of baseball’s best hitters over the last six seasons. He owns a career batting average of .288 along with 160 homers and 507 RBIs.
ANGRY BIRDS: ‘Mad’ Blue Jays starters fuelled for redemption after 2024 disaster
DUNEDIN, Fla. — They are two guys who took the Blue Jays money — willingly — and hitched themselves to a team each believed was headed to big things.
And now, both Chris Bassitt and Kevin Gausman are motivated to be key players in the Toronto redemption tour as they inch towards a season with so much on the line.
Both starting pitchers — who collectively signed contracts worth more than $170 million US — are also realists, recognizing that the disaster that unfolded last season was real, but not necessarily debilitating. That said, the frustrating debacle of 2024 certainly left a mark.
The two cornerstones of the Jays rotation might have been a little — let’s go polite — “ticked” with how things went down last season, after living through the trade deadline selloff and the miserable August and September that followed.
And, as competitors who came to Canada for big-money contracts in the prime of their careers with the desire to win, well, that frustration is to be expected.
“Yeah, I was mad,” Bassitt said candidly in an interview with the Toronto Sun at his locker in the Jays’ player development complex. “Yeah, I was very frustrated. But I think every veteran in the room was very frustrated. I think a lot of that blame is probably on us.
“I was mad at myself. I was mad at every veteran in this room. I was mad at every coach. I was mad at everybody because I was like: ‘How did we get here?’ I came here to compete for a World Series, and we’re settling for this? That’s not why I came here. So, yeah, I would say every single person was mad.”
Some context: When we spoke, Bassitt wasn’t mad in the moment, rather clearly articulating how he has resolutely moved on from the futile season behind him while confident of better things ahead. But in a wide-ranging conversation about what went wrong in 2024 and what needs to go right in ’25, Bassitt’s passion is apparent. As a guy looked upon as a team leader, you probably wouldn’t want it any other way.
