The entire MLB world took notice on Tuesday when the Toronto Blue Jays failed to ink Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to an extension.
For a team that so aggressively pursued Shohei Ohtani and Juan Soto in free agency, their failure to lock up an in-house superstar feels like a strong indictment of Ross Atkins and the wayward Blue Jays front office. Toronto just can't get out of its own way; Guerrero Jr. has expressed his desire to remain with the Jays time and time again, but Toronto effectively punched his ticket out the door this week.
Vladdy immediately becomes the most appealing 2026 free agent for all of MLB's marquee markets. All your standard big spenders are bound to take notice. The New York teams. Boston. Chicago. Even Los Angeles. There isn't a contender that shouldn't at least check in on Guerrero Jr., even if his asking price balloons to a historic level after Juan Soto's record-setting $765 million bag.
The New York Yankees are an obvious fit for Guerrero Jr., at least on paper. Paul Goldschmidt is likely one-and-done at first base in the Bronx. After whiffing on a Soto reunion, the Yankees theoretically have plenty of cash to spend. In addition to Goldschmidt, the trio of Devin Williams, Trent Grisham, and Marcus Stroman are all slated to come off the books next winter. The Yankees are baseball's most storied franchise; there's always some appeal to the idea of donning pinstripes.
That said, it sure sounds like New York Mets owner Steve Cohen has Hal Steinbrenner spooked after the aggressive, unforgiving Soto sweepstakes. That alone could dissuade the Yankees from an earnest pursuit of Guerrero Jr.
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Hal Steinbrenner might get gun-shy with Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s free agency
The common thought as free agency got underway was that Soto wanted to remain a Yankee. That notion was challenged over the ensuing weeks, but we don't need to invent reasons for his departure. Soto left for the Mets for a simple reason: The team from Queens offered the most money. The Mets' pockets are deep and Cohen does not back down from a challenge.
That is why MLB.com's Bryan Hoch thinks the Yankees might politely opt out of a Guerrero Jr. bidding war.
"The Yankees will have money coming off the books if they choose to pursue a player like Vlad Jr., or – as has been reported – they might focus their attention on Japanese first baseman Munetaka Murakami," he writes.
"Goldschmidt ($12.5 million), Devin Williams ($8.5 million) and Trent Grisham ($5 million) are all free agents, and Marcus Stroman ($18 million) could be too. I’ve got to say: after attempting to go toe-to-toe with Cohen’s Mets for Soto, I don’t sense the Yankees would be all that enthusiastic about engaging in another bidding war."
Not great, Bob! The Yankees are equipped with plenty of spending power and a money-printing machine named Aaron Judge, but we've heard rumblings of Hal Steinbrenner's weariness before. He went toe-to-toe with Cohen for Soto, to his credit, but the Yankees still lost in the end. And that was to keep a superstar in-house. Guerrero Jr. has no present affiliation with the Yankees and has even expressed blatant enmity toward the franchise in years past.
"I like to play in New York, I like to kill the Yankees," Guerrero Jr. once said. "I would never sign with the Yankees, not even dead."
It's an all-time quote. Guerrero Jr. later walked it back, but honestly, it's hard not to respect the hate. We all love rivalries in sports. Guerrero Jr. clearly feels a certain type of way about how the Yankees treated his father once upon a time. Wouldn't it be more fun to keep that rivalry alive, rather than signing up for a decade-plus of fan service in the Bronx? I think so.
As it so happens, New York's foremost rivals, the Boston Red Sox, are widely hailed as the favorites to land Guerrero next winter. It sounds like the Mets are hedging their bets against a Guerrero pursuit, too, so the stars are aligning quite beautifully for the Red Sox. And hey, if you enjoy killing the Yankees, there's nowhere better to do it than Beantown.
It's way too early to rule either New York team out of the Guerrero bidding. Perhaps the Red Sox' purported interest is enough to get Steinbrenner to change his tune. If the Yankees do eventually let Guerrero Jr. pass them by, however, don't expect fans to take it well. You're the New York Yankees™, for Pete's sake. Go for it!