Can the Blue Jays remain in first place without Vlad Guerrero Jr. at his best?

National Post

10-07-2025

When you are the $500-million man and thus the richest player in franchise history, it comes with a price.
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Or so it seems, anyway, with one of the only players on the current Blue Jays roster who is underperforming on expectations.
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In the case of Blue Jays all-star first baseman Vlad Guerrero Jr., the barking has picked up even in the midst of one of the team's most meaningful hot streaks in a decade.
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When the team's 10-game winning streak came sputtering to a halt on Wednesday with a 2-1 loss to the White Sox on Chicago's South Side in one of the team's sloppier efforts in weeks, Guerrero instantly became the flashpoint for the modest failure.
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Some ugliness on the bases, an 0-for-4 afternoon at the plate — even as Blue Jays marketers pumped up the fact that his next hit would be his 1,000th with the Jays — plus some clear frustration from him and, once again, Guerrero's impact is being questioned.
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Some of it is rooted in fact: Guerrero continues to lag in terms of impact as the power hitter that resolutely drives the offence and, as such, is on pace for his lowest home run output in his seven big league seasons.
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Some of it is rooted in selective criticism as well, ignoring the fact that Guerrero still is an elite hitter who is treated as such by opposing pitchers and, by MLB standards, is doing just fine.
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But when a $500-million US extension was gifted him from the bottomless pit of owner Rogers Communications back in April, the baseball benevolence was always supposed to buy more than that.
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Since he was a teenager blitzing his way up the Jays organizational depth chart, he expected better of himself. The pressure is heaped considerably higher now, which always is going to be the way when a team has so much invested in one player, both in contract and marketing initiatives.
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Is Guerrero feeling that pressure, even as his team soars? Is he pressing to return to his designated spot as 'the man' on a team that is suddenly in first place? Many days it appears so.
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Thus far in July, he is just 7 for 32 at the plate, leading to a .219 batting average and .342 on base percentage — easily Guerrero's worst month this season in those categories a third of the way through.
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Sure, he's hitting the ball hard, but with just one homer in his past 13 games and 12 on the season (which has him in a four-way tie for second among Jays and four behind resurgent team leader George Springer) he's easily headed for his lowest long ball total as a Jays.