The Toronto Blue Jays and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. remain far apart. Guerrero Jr. will hit free agency next winter barring an unexpected extension agreement between the two sides. Last checked, the Jays and Guerrero Jr. were around $50 million to $100 million apart. Even that gap may be a bit too much ground to make up with Opening Day on Thursday.
Most stars, even Guerrero Jr., do not want to negotiate in-season. It serves as a distraction from the team and can impact their play on the field. This is why the Blue Jays making another offer on Thursday is such a big deal. By saying no, Guerrero Jr. is essentially giving a hard pass on extension talks moving forward as well, barring a sudden change in philosophy.
Per ESPN's Buster Olney, the new offer didn't move the needle all that much.
The Blue Jays have made another offer in their negotiations with Vladimir Guerrero, per sources; a gap still remains between the two sides.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) March 27, 2025
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Toronto Blue Jays new offer to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. wasn't good enough
Guerrero Jr. reportedly believes his asking price could go as high as $650 million to $700 million in free agency if he has another outstanding season. The bigger concern in talks with Vladdy is that even if he has a subpar season, Guerrero Jr. will ask for around $500 million, which just isn't realistic.
Mark Shapiro and the Blue Jays front office has remained optimistic about signing Guerrero Jr., though every day that goes by without a viable offer make that possibility tougher to imagine.
“We have such a clear alignment on the desired outcome,” Shapiro said. “Vlad wants to play his whole career as a Toronto Blue Jay. We want him to end his career in a Blue Jays uniform and be a true legacy player for the Toronto Blue Jays. That’s a pretty good place to start.”
As great as that sounds, it's less realistic when looking at the terms of what said extension would be. The Blue Jays have whiffed on Shohei Ohtani, Juan Soto and Roki Sasaki in back-to-back offseasons. Losing Guerrero Jr. in 2025 would signify an even larger loss given he is a homegrown talent, and one who knows more about the organization than most.
If the Jays can't convince their own stars to stay, then what's the point of any of this?