While most people were asleep late on Sunday night, the Toronto Blue Jays and their superstar first baseman, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., were busy putting the finishing touches on a massive 14-year, $500 million extension that will keep him with the organization until he is 40-years-old.
After years of seemingly always coming up short on major free agents, the Blue Jays finally got one guy to say yes, and they got a really good one. The son of MLB Hall-of-Famer Vladimir Guerrero, who once played for the Montreal Expos for many years, Guerrero Jr. now has a chance to potentially surpass his father, and he will likely have the distinct honor of being able to do it all with one club.
Similar to Ryan Zimmerman with the Nationals, the Blue Jays have seemingly found their "Mr. Blue Jay," and he will likely go down as the Greatest Blue Jay of All Time when his career is said and done. While I'm sure that this deal likely sent a chill down the spine of Chicago Cubs fans, who have to be wondering what their superstar, Kyle Tucker, is going to get in free agency as the undisputed top free agent next year, is going to command on the open market.
As for how this is relevant news to the Nationals, before Guerrero Jr. inked the deal with the Blue Jays, there had already been a lot of whispers about him potentially hitting the open market and potentially making his way over to a pair of teams in the NL East that are seemingly stacked with talent but have not yet been able to get over the hump: the Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Mets.
Both teams had already been rumored to be preparing to make a massive run for the superstar first baseman, as the Phillies are set to have a lot of money come off of their books following the 2026 season. Surrounding Guerrero Jr. with the likes of Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, and others would have been an absolute nightmare for the Nationals to have to deal with in the division, but perhaps the even bigger prize was keeping him away from the Mets.
You are likely aware at this point that Juan Soto signed the biggest contract in the history of American sports this winter, and the thought of potentially having Soto and Guerrero Jr. hit back to back in their lineup would have been absolutely torturous for Nationals fans. That doesn't even include other guys they still have like Francisco Lindor, Francisco Alvarez, and others that I'm sure owner Steve Cohen would have had no trouble breaking the bank for.
While obviously we would have loved to see the Nationals get a chance to make an offer on Guerrero to pair with the team's young core of position players like CJ Abrams, Dylan Crews, James Wood, and others, there was probably not a high likelihood that the team would even be able to secure a meeting with him.
Congratulations to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. on his incredible contract, and let's hope he can keep producing the way he has the past few years for the sake of my fantasy baseball team!
Do you think Vladdy will live up to his contract? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.