Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and the Toronto Blue Jays agree to a 14-year deal, $500 million US contract extension that starts in 2026, according to multiple media reports.
The deal, which is pending a physical, is also being reported by Sportsnet, ESPN, The Associated Press and The Athletic.
CBC Sports has not independently confirmed the reports.
The 26-year-old Guerrero is in the final year of his current contract. The homegrown star is the face of Canada’s lone Major League Baseball franchise.
The Blue Jays have yet to confirm the deal.
Guerrero’s deal does not include any deferred money, according to reports.
Guerrero agreed in January to a $28.5 million, one-year contract that avoided arbitration and the four-time all-star first baseman had said he wouldn’t negotiate after he reported to spring training in mid-February. Still, talks continued well into the regular season. His new deal would run through the 2039 season.
Deal 3rd largest in total dollars
Guerrero got the third-largest contract in total dollars behind outfielder Juan Soto’s $765 million, 15-year contract with the New York Mets that started this season and two-way star Shohei Ohtani’s $700 million, 10-year agreement with the Los Angeles Dodgers that began last year and is heavily deferred.
Guerrero’s $35.71 million average annual value under the new deal ranks eighth among current contracts behind the agreements of Ohtani ($70 million), Soto ($51 million), Philadelphia pitcher Zack Wheeler ($42 million), Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge ($40 million), Texas pitcher Jacob deGrom ($37 million), Dodgers pitcher Blake Snell ($36.4 million) and Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole ($36 million).
The deal is by far the most lucrative in franchise history, far surpassing the $150-million, six-year deal that outfielder George Springer signed as a free agent in January 2021.
The Blue Jays took swings at the sport’s top free agents this past off-season — including Juan Soto, who signed an MLB-record $765-million, 15-year deal with the New York Mets — before extending one of their own stars.
Guerrero, who hit .323 last season with 30 homers and 103 RBIs, has spent his entire pro career in Toronto.
Signed as a 16-year-old
Former Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos signed him as a 16-year-old in July 2015. At the time, Guerrero was ranked fourth on MLB.com’s top-30 list of international prospects.
A Montreal native who represents the Dominican Republic internationally, Guerrero played third base in his rookie year before moving across the diamond in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.
His best year came in 2021, when he finished second in the AL MVP race after hitting .311 with 48 homers and 111 RBIs.
Guerrero won a Gold Glove in ’22 but his offensive numbers slipped a little, a trend that continued in ’23. He was back in top form last year though, anchoring the lineup with a .940 OPS and .544 slugging percentage.
The extension was a big accomplishment for general manager Ross Atkins and the team’s front office, who were slammed by the team’s fan base and pilloried by local media for some of their choices last winter.
The team did sign slugger Anthony Santander to a five-year deal but otherwise struck out in its attempt to land top free-agent talent.
When Guerrero’s mid-February negotiation deadline passed without a deal, the pile-on continued.
Citing the desire to limit distractions at training camp and during the season, Guerrero planned to put contract talks on hold. The four-time all-star did, however, leave the door open for the resumption of talks.
Reports surfaced in early March that the Blue Jays had offered Guerrero a deal in the $400-$450 million range. Another volley appeared to come in late March when reports said the Blue Jays made another offer.
The two sides were eventually able to agree just over a week into the regular season.
He was awarded $19.9 million for 2024 when an arbitration panel picked his request over the team’s offer of $18.05 million.
Guerrero hit .381 over 95 minor-league games in 2018 and made his big-league debut with Toronto in April 2019.
His father, Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero, was a nine-time all-star and 2004 AL MVP.
