There will be no free-agent bidding war for Vladimir Guerrero Jr. this winter.
Not after the superstar slugger reached a reported 14-year, $500 million extension with the Toronto Blue Jays — the third-largest contract in MLB history, in terms of total value.
It’s a deal that made sense for both sides.
Guerrero, 26, is a Canadian citizen who had stated his desire to remain in Toronto. Guerrero, the son of Hall of Fame outfielder Vladimir Guerrero, was born in Montreal during his dad’s tenure with the Expos.
The Blue Jays, meanwhile, can continue to build around Guerrero as a franchise cornerstone after their recent free-agent pursuits of Shohei Ohtani, Juan Soto, Max Fried and Roki Sasaki came up short.
Only Soto’s 15-year, $765 million contract with the Mets and Ohtani’s heavily deferred 10-year, $700 million deal with the Dodgers are bigger than Guerrero’s extension, which reportedly does not include deferred money.
But Guerrero’s annual average salary of $35.7 million pales in comparison to Soto’s ($51 million) and Ohtani’s (about $46 million in present-day value).
Guerrero, who signed with Toronto as a teenaged international free agent a decade ago, is a four-time All-Star who finished second in American League MVP voting in 2021. The right-handed batter set career highs last year with 199 hits and a .323 average to go with 30 home runs and 103 RBI.
The agreement resolves a multi-year saga in which Guerrero and the Blue Jays repeatedly failed to come to terms. In February, Guerrero said the sides did not come close to a new deal before his self-imposed deadline.
“I want to be a Blue Jay for the rest of my career, but it’s free agency,” Guerrero said at the time. “It’s business. I’m going to have to listen to 29 more teams and they’re going to have to compete with that.”
Time will tell if Guerrero’s contract proves to be an outlier or if it resets the market for first basemen. Teams have been reluctant to make long-term investments in power-hitting first basemen, particularly over the age of 30.
Freddie Freeman was 32 when he signed a six-year, $162 million contract with the Dodgers in 2022. Max Olson was entering his age-28 season when he inked an eight-year, $168 million extension with the Atlanta Braves.
Pete Alonso, 30, returned to the Mets this offseason on a two-year, $54 million contract with an opt-out that would allow him to test free agency again this winter. The Blue Jays were among the teams that showed interest in Alonso before he re-signed with the Mets in February.
Amid the uncertainty around Alonso’s situation, the Steve Cohen-funded Mets were linked to Guerrero as a potential suitor. Mets fans even cheered for Guerrero during Friday’s Opening Day ceremony at Citi Field in a nod to his impending free agency.
“To be honest with you, that’s normal for me,” Guerrero said through an interpreter after Friday’s game. “I never have been booed in any other stadium. Everybody always has been nice to me everywhere I go.”
Guerrero’s contract is by far the biggest ever for a first baseman, effectively doubling the 10-year, $254 million deal Albert Pujols signed with the Los Angeles Angels in 2011 and the eight-year, $248 million extension Miguel Cabrera reached with the Detroit Tigers in 2014. Pujols was entering his age-32 season when he signed, while Cabrera was entering his age-31 campaign.
Guerrero’s extension removes him from a 2025-26 free-agent class that is expected to be headlined by Chicago Cubs outfielder Kyle Tucker, a three-time All-Star who turns 29 in January.
Power-hitting Japanese first baseman Munetaka Murakami, 25, is expected to pursue a move to MLB this winter as well.
