Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has said in the past that he wants to be a member of the Toronto Blue Jays for life. But after the two sides failed to reach an agreement on a contract extension prior to the first baseman’s deadline on Monday night, his future with the franchise is uncertain.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, the 25-year-old Guerrero said that he last spoke with the team at 10:30 p.m. ET Monday night and that the Blue Jays were not close to offering what he was looking for.
“They had their numbers; I had my numbers,” Guerrero said through interpreter Hector Lebro on Tuesday.
Guerrero, a four-time All-Star who hit 30 home runs and drove in 103 runs last season, does not plan on negotiating during the season and is currently scheduled to become a free agent in November.
“I’m here. We didn’t get an agreement,” Guerrero said. “Now, they’re going to have to compete with 29 other teams.”
Guerrero is entering his seventh season with the Blue Jays. He has a career .288 batting average had has hit at least 30 home runs in three of the past four seasons and driven in at least 90 runs a season since 2021. After pursuing big-name free agents like Shohei Ohtani, Juan Soto, Roki Sasaki and Pete Alonso only to fall short, losing a franchise piece like Guerrero — and potentially shortstop Bo Bichette after the 2025 season — would be a crushing blow.
Guerrero reiterated on Tuesday he wants to remain in Toronto, saying, “I will do anything, everything I can to stay here because I want to be here.” But winning is also important to the two-time All-MLB First-teamer. While the Blue Jays have made the playoffs three times since Guerrero entered the big leagues, they’ve yet to win a game — losing all three wild card series via a 2-0 sweep.
Success is what Guerrero wants to achieve in Toronto, but should he become available to the rest of MLB, he’ll have numerous options to pursue a championship.
“Winning team,” Guerrero said. “That’s what I’ll be looking for in free agency. As you guys know, my dad played a lot of years. He never won a World Series. My personal goal is to win a World Series and give the ring to my dad.”
