No Blue Jays fan should buy Mark Shapiro's crocodile tears over losing Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Toronto Blue Jays fans woke up on Tuesday morning with the news they spent all offseason dreading: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., the organization's best player and face of the franchise, did not agree to an extension to remain in Toronto long-term by his self-imposed deadline, setting the stage for him to depart after the 2025 campaign. The failure to reach a deal isn't the final nail in Toronto's coffin when it comes to keeping Guerrero Jr. around long-term, but it certainly makes it less likely for that outcome to take place.

Guerrero Jr. and GM Ross Atkins spoke to the media on Tuesday, but didn't reveal much. Blue Jays president and CEO Mark Shapiro, on the other hand, revealed a whole lot.

Shapiro acted as if the Jays did whatever they could — even going beyond their comfort zone — to reach an agreement with Guerrero. This is not something any Blue Jays fan should buy into.

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Blue Jays fans can't be fooled by Mark Shapiro's emotional response to failed Vladimir Guerrero Jr. extension

Shapiro's statement sounds good ... if it were remotely true. With that being said, it's hard for Blue Jays fans to believe much about it.

The most glaring part of what Shapiro had to say was that the Jays went past their value because they care so deeply about Guerrero Jr. as a player and a face of the franchise. Really?

Look, nobody knows what Guerrero Jr. wants and what the Jays were willing to offer. If the slugger was looking for something similar to the 15-year, $765 million deal that Juan Soto signed with the New York Mets and Toronto offered him something around $600 million, it's hard to get on the Jays too much. Guerrero Jr.'s asking price would have been utterly absurd in that scenario.

Until that is proven to be true, however, it's safe to assume Guerrero Jr.'s ask was far more reasonable, and the Jays still refused to come close to his number. If that's the case, Toronto very obviously did not care that deeply, as evidenced by their refusal to even come close to meeting his asking price.

Now, the Jays are in a seemingly impossible spot. On one hand, they want to compete, making it unlikely that they even consider trading Guerrero Jr. even after failing to extend him. On the other hand, their inability to extend Guerrero Jr. now when no teams were competing against them makes it rather unlikely that they can do so in the offseason when 29 other teams can negotiate with the slugger. They should trade him, but won't.

Hopefully, if they don't end up trading him, Shapiro actually does put his best foot forward in the offseason when it comes to keeping Guerrero Jr. around (that is, if he and Ross Atkins are still employed by the team by then).