Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is set on becoming a free agent at the end of the 2025 season.
The Toronto Blue Jays first baseman said he doesn’t plan to sign an extension during the season after his self-imposed deadline for a deal passed on Monday.
“Listen, I want to be here. I want to be a Blue Jay for the rest of my career,” Guerrero told reporters through an interpreter on Tuesday. “But it’s free agency. It’s business. So I’m going to have to listen to 29 more teams and they’re going to have to compete for that.”
As the Blue Jays have worked to secure a long-term extension for their franchise player this offseason, Guerrero replied “no” when asked if they were close to an agreement.
“They have their numbers; I have my numbers,” Guerrero said.
If Guerrero remains true to his word and doesn’t sign an extension during the season, he’ll almost certainly be the most sought-after free agent next winter. The 25-year-old has been one of the game’s best first basemen since he was called up in 2019, earning an All-Star nod in each of the last four seasons. He was one of the most productive hitters in the American League in 2024, batting .323 to go with 30 homers, 103 RBIs and a .940 OPS.
It stands to reason that Guerrero will also become the next player to receive a monster payday after Juan Soto inked a record 15-year, $765 million deal with the New York Mets in December. Guerrero, though, insisted that Soto’s contract didn’t impact his negotiations with the Blue Jays this offseason.
“Soto’s deal had nothing to do with my decision at all,” Guerrero said. “Even before that, I knew my value. I knew my number.”
[Related: Who could break Juan Soto’s $765M record? First look at future MLB free-agent classes]
Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins maintained that their offers to Guerrero resembled the spike in salaries for MLB’s top stars, saying the team was “very, very aggressive” and “exhausted the communication, the ideas, the thoughts and communicated every dollar.”
“The offers that we made for Vlad would’ve been record-setting and would’ve made him one of the highest-paid players in the game,” Atkins told reporters.
Now, the Blue Jays might face a difficult in-season decision. With Guerrero heading for free agency, the Blue Jays risk losing him for nothing more than a compensatory pick. Guerrero has told those close to him that he would “love” to play for the Boston Red Sox, according to USA Today.
Toronto could get ahead of that by trading him in-season, which would seemingly net a haul of another team’s top prospects and/or young players. But the Blue Jays are currently planning to keep Guerrero and will reassess a possible trade ahead of the deadline in July, ESPN reported.
Guerrero’s extension deadline aligned with the Blue Jays’ first full-squad practice of spring training. Toronto is seeking to make the playoffs in 2025 after missing it in 2024 following two straight appearances. The Blue Jays were aggressive and linked to many big-name free agents this offseason, but struggled to land the majority of the players they pursued. They were able to sign outfielder Anthony Santander, right-handed pitcher Max Scherzer, reliever Jeff Hoffman and second baseman Andrés Giménez.
Yet with the New York Yankees and Red Sox reloading this offseason and the Baltimore Orioles’ young core still growing, the path for the Blue Jays to make the playoffs in 2025 presumably became tougher. As free agency looms for Guerrero, winning will be a main factor in his decision on what contract he’ll sign.
“My dad played a lot of years, and he never won the World Series,” Guerrero said. “And I always say my personal goal is to win a World Series and give the ring to my dad. So that’s all I’m looking for.”
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