As Toronto Blue Jays fans laughed at the New York Yankees for failing to keep Juan Soto, they perhaps forgot what was going on in their own backyard. Soto’s $765 million contract with the Mets (that has escalators to take it to $805 million) completely altered Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s market.
Vladdy is set to hit free agency next offseason and the “deadline” for the two parties to agree to a contract extension has passed. On Tuesday, it was revealed the Blue Jays made a generous offer of $500 million with deferrals, but the star first baseman rejected it.
In the end, Guerrero Jr. reportedly wanted $500 million in present day value, which created a $50 million gap the Blue Jays apparently weren’t willing to meet. It seems they felt they made a fair offer and will let the rest play itself out. If they went that high, there was no need to make further overtures, and, yes, that’s coming from a Yankees fan.
But, in all seriousness, how does it feel, Toronto? We know you’ve experienced this with free agents outside the organization. Most recently, all of Soto, Shohei Ohtani, Roki Sasaki, Alex Bregman and more turned their lucrative offers down. Maybe it’s the thought of playing in Canada. Maybe it’s the fact the Blue Jays just aren’t very good.
Either way, having one of the richest ownership groups in the sport doesn’t seem to matter. That’s been a partial reality for the Yankees, who have gotten burned on plenty of free agents over the years as rival fans pointed and laughed.
Yankees Rumors: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. free agency could exceed $500 million
Do the Yankees lack aggression sometimes? Absolutely. But they are also used as a negotiating chip constantly, with players looking to involve them in their search to drive up the price of their next offer. Have the Yankees spent irresponsibly on the wrong players? Also yes. But they can’t be asked to reset the market on a different player every other year. It’s not realistic.
And hey … at least they retain their key members and go the extra mile to get the stars they truly desire. They went to $360 million for Aaron Judge (which now looks like chump change). They out-bid the field by $80 million for Gerrit Cole ($324 million). They saw an opportunity to pick up Giancarlo Stanton’s record $325 million contract at a discount. They made Max Fried the highest-paid left-handed pitcher in history so they could ensure his arrival.
The Blue Jays? They got Anthony Santander on deferrals. They got the loudmouth, washed up Max Scherzer for $500K more than Justin Verlander since it was obvious Scherzer was trying to make a point. They made “splashes” for George Springer, Chris Bassitt and Jose Berrios, which haven’t done a whole lot. Meanwhile, they got spurned by actual game-changing talent, and now they’re faced with a massive obstacle in regard to retaining their top homegrown star.
Like we said. We almost feel bad. At the very least, we can relate. But we’ll return the favor and offer a haughty laugh instead.
