Toronto Blue Jays infielder Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Is likely headed for free agency at the end of the 2025 season. When he gets there, teams like the Blue Jays, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, and many others will likely pursue him.
The superstar infielder has played at least 123 games in each of his five full seasons in the big leagues. He played 60 games in the shortened COVID-19 season. In 819 games, he's posted a 21.5 WAR with 160 home runs and a 137 OPS+.
Jim Bowden of The Athletic recently listed the incumbent Blue Jays atop the free agency sweepstakes for Guerrero. Forbes writer Daniel Epstein projects Guerrero to sign for north of $480 million, which is a figure the Blue Jays could definitely afford.
"Guerrero will give the Blue Jays the same opportunity as the other 29 clubs to sign him in free agency, which should give Jays fans at least some hope he could return," Bowden wrote. "And if Guerrero really wants to be a Blue Jay for the rest of his career, perhaps he'd give Toronto the last crack to at least match the highest offer he receives."
The Blue Jays have partnered with Guerrero for the last six years. He's been a staple of their lineup, and Toronto would likely prefer this partnership to continue for a lot longer.
Toronto reportedly had offers for Shohei Ohtani and Juan Soto on the table worth north of $600 million, so giving Guerrero a deal worth around $500 million shouldn't be an issue.
The Blue Jays will need to avoid past mistakes and come out of a free-agent bidding war on top if they want to retain Guerrero.