The Blue Jays’ nightmare stretch of failing to sign any of the game’s biggest stars continued on Tuesday morning, as their face of the franchise revealed that he and his homegrown team did not reach an agreement on a contract extension.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. told reporters on Tuesday that his self-imposed negotiating deadline has passed, and he and Toronto did not come to terms on an extension, meaning the four-time All-Star will head to free agency later this year, where the Mets and Steve Cohen could potentially try to pounce.
“No, we did not get an agreement,” Guerrero said Tuesday. “They had their numbers, I had my numbers. It’s just business.”
Guerrero had established that he would cease negotiations once he reported for spring training and focus on the season ahead. He is coming off a 2024 campaign in which he hit .323 with 30 home runs and 103 RBI, producing 6.2 WAR in his age-25 season.
After seeing Juan Soto bring in nearly $800 million in free agency this offseason, Guerrero will be looking for a monster payday, and he told reporters bluntly that he and the Blue Jays did not come close to an agreement during the negotiations, though both sides met in person to try and get a deal done.
“The last couple days, the front office and my lawyers and agents, they met,” Guerrero said. “Both sides tried, but obviously we couldn’t get an agreement.”
Guerrero maintained that he wants to remain in Toronto, where the Blue Jays have consistently pushed, and failed, to sign big-name free agents, but now, teams like the Mets will have their shot at landing one of the best hitters in the game who will be just 26 years old this year.
“I want to be here. I want to be a Blue Jay for the rest of my career,” Guerrero said. “But it's free agency. It's business. So I'm going to have to listen to 29 more teams and they're going to have to compete for that.”