The Toronto Blue Jays are in a tough spot right now. Both their top stars, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette, are now in the final year of their contracts. With both set to hit free agency next offseason, it's hard to imagine the Blue Jays will find the money to re-sign the two.
Between them, Guerrero Jr. would be the much more important player both for the future and for right now. But he also clearly has his sights set on being a $500 million player (at least) in free agency.
This offseason, it seems as though the Blue Jays did everything they can to prove to Guerrero Jr. that Toronto is the place to be. They made real runs at Juan Soto, Roki Sasaki and Corbun Burnes and added Anthony Santander, Jeff Hoffman, and Max Scherzer, among others.
Toronto now has just the 2025 season to show Guerrero that it can put together a winning team around him. But Opening Day could be indicative of the exact opposite outcome.
For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on The Baseball Insiders podcast, subscribe to The Moonshot, our weekly MLB newsletter, and join the discord to get the inside scoop between now and the MLB offseason.
Blue Jays' Opening Day flop could be indicative of nightmare year
It would be putting it lightly to say that the Blue Jays' Opening Day performance against the Baltimore Orioles was a flop. Toronto starter Jose Berrios surrendered six runs in five innings of work. while Bichette and Santander were a combined 0-for-8 hitting before and after Guerrero Jr. Vladdy himself was 0-for2 with two walks and a run scored. It was a complete disaster from start to finish, with a final score of 12-2.
When he signs his next deal, it's likely going to be a contract that will tie him down for over 10 years. There's a chance Guerrero chases a deal with opt-outs so that he could enter free agency again a few years down the line, but the consensus idea is that Guerrero Jr. is signing a deal for 10 to 15 years.
He's going to want to win above nearly all else. If he makes the mistake of signing with the Blue Jays and they can't put together a winning team around him, he could waste his career in Toronto with only a handful of winning seasons when his career ends. But if the Blue Jays can turn things around and put together a 90-win season this year, it would be much easier to re-sign the superstar.
If Opening Day is a sign of things to come, Blue Jays fans can't blame him for wanting out.