Boston Tops Wish List for Pending Free Agent Superstar

It is growing apparent that Vladimir Guerrero Jr. will not get a contract extension from the Toronto Blue Jays. 

If he becomes a free agent after the 2025 season, the four-time All-Star, who turns 26 on March 16, is rumored to have another AL East team on his wish list. On February 16, Bob Nightengale, the long-time journalist who is currently a Major League Baseball insider and columnist for USA Today, posted on X (formerly Twitter), stating, “It’s no secret that Vladimir Guerrero has told friends that if he hits free agency, he’d love to play for the Boston Red Sox.” 

Just after the start of spring training, Jim Bowden of The Athletic cited Nightengale’s post to suggest Boston would be the next best fit for Guerrero if he did not resign with Toronto. 

“Fenway Park would be a great fit for Guerrero; he’s hit well there (1.054 career OPS), and would do serious damage to the Green Monster for years to come,” Bowden surmised. 

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Says He Proposed Salary Terms Much Lower Than Juan Soto Contract

GettyToronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. will be a free agent after the 2025 season.

As more reports shed light on the discussions regarding a contract extension between the Toronto Blue Jays and Vladimir Guerrero Jr., it appears less likely that the superstar slugger will remain with the team that originally signed him as an international free agent in July 2015. 

Entering the final season of his current contract, Guerrero had informed Toronto that he did not want any conversations about an extension to continue once spring training began. Explaining that decision to MLB Network, Guerrero said he simply wanted to avoid being a distraction. 

“It’s not only for me, just for my teammates, you know?” he said. “I don’t want it to be the whole year, you’re asking my teammates, ‘Oh, is he going to stay here? Is he going to leave?’ you know? So like I say, we are grown … men here, you know, and we understand the business. So when the season starts, it’s play for wins, we’re not playing for nothing else. So that’s my point, to … try to play with my mind clean and play to win the World Series this year.” 

The latest reporting indicates that the Blue Jays rejected a proposal from Guerrero that included salary terms he felt were very reasonable. Compared to the 15-year, $765 million contract that Juan Soto had recently signed with the Mets, Guerrero said his proposal for Toronto involved significantly fewer dollars. 

“It’s much less than Soto. We’re talking about many fewer millions than Soto, more than a hundred million less. …,” Guerrero said. “It was the same number of years [as Soto’s contract], but it didn’t reach [$600 million]. The last number we gave them as a counteroffer didn’t reach 600.” 

“I know the business,” Guerrero continued. “I lowered the salary demands a bit, but I also lowered the number of years. … I’m looking for 14 [years]. I would like 14, 15, even 20 if they give them to me, but doing it the right way.” 

Toronto officials would not discuss specifics about the negotiations. Blues Jays president Mark Shapiro simply stated, “when it comes to getting a deal done, it’s either done or not done.” 

Toronto Faces No-Win Decision About Fan Favorite Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

GettyToronto Blue Jays slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is a four-time All-Star who has played nearly every game for the Blue Jays over the past five seasons.

So with each passing day, it grows more unlikely that Guerrero will remain with Toronto, who finds itself between the heaviest of rocks and the hardest of places.  

In what should be a loaded AL East, with New York, Boston and Baltimore all expected to compete for playoff spots, the Blue Jays risk facing the no-win decision of trading a player beloved by the fan base, an offensive machine who has played almost every game over the last five seasons, or letting him walk after another season with no playoffs.  

By doing the former, the Blue Jays would likely fail to get the truly great return in a trade for a pending free agent that could offset the fan backlash. In choosing the latter, Toronto could at the very least go through the motions of making a qualifying offer that everyone knows Guerrero won’t accept, just to get the compensatory draft pick, making that perhaps the more plausible outcome. 

For Guerrero, that is all a conversation to be had at a later date. 

“Right now, I just focus on the team,” he said. “I’m here right now, and I just try to help the team to win.” 

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