Blue Jays reportedly sign Vladimir Guerrero Jr to $500m, 14-year contract
Guerrero agreed in January to a $28.5m, one-year contract that avoided arbitration and the four-time All-Star first baseman had said he wouldn't negotiate after he reported to spring training in mid-February. Still, talks with his agent continued well into the regular season.
Guerrero's deal is the third-largest in total dollars behind Juan Soto's $765m, 15-year contract with the New York Mets that started this season and Shohei Ohtani's $700m, 10-year agreement with the Los Angeles Dodgers that began last year and is heavily deferred.
Guerrero's $35.71m average annual value under the new deal ranks eighth among current contracts behind the agreements of Ohtani ($70m), Soto ($51m), Philadelphia pitcher Zack Wheeler ($42m), Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge ($40m), Texas pitcher Jacob deGrom ($37m), Dodgers pitcher Blake Snell ($36.4m) and Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole ($36m).
A son of Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero, the Blue Jays star turned 26 last month and would have been a free agent this fall at a relatively young age. He is a .277 career hitter with 160 homers and 511 RBIs. He's batting .256 with no homers and four RBIs in the first 10 games this season.
Seeking their first World Series title since winning championships in 1992 and 1993, Toronto notably failed to land Ohtani, Soto and Roki Sasaki as free agents. The Blue Jays agreed to a $92.5m, five-year contract with outfielder Anthony Santander, a $15.5m, one-year contract with right-hander Max Scherzer and a $33m, three-year contract with reliever Jeff Hoffman. Toronto shortstop Bo Bichette, a two-time All-Star, remains eligible for free agency after this year's World Series.
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