Blue Jays: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. epically trolls fans

A cryptic image posted on Vlad Jr.’s Instagram account sent the Blue Jays community into a frenzy. After a genius prank, the fanbase returned to its resting state.

If you weren’t a fan of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. before, you should be now. The exciting young third baseman endeared himself even more to the Blue Jays faithful on Monday by posting a puzzling and intriguing picture on his Instagram account. Check it out below:

At first glance, the photo really doesn’t look like much, until you check out the location. Yes, that’s right, JFK Airport in New York City. And where are the Jays playing their next series – the Big Apple. Of course, everyone’s first thought was: is Vladdy G finally getting called up to the Jays?

https://twitter.com/GideonTurk/status/996104094472392707

The keyword “Vlad” shot to the top of the Canadian Twitter charts and several notable Twitter users, including Cespedes Family BBQ and Mark Feinsand tweeted about the story. At 5:00 PM EST, more than 10,000 tweets have been tallied with Guerrero’s name attached, with many more coming in as this is being written.

After a crazy sequence, Baseball Toronto’s Keegan Matheson reported that the photo in question is, in fact, an old photo which Vlad posted on his Instagram in December. Shortly after the post, Vlad removed the geotag from his newer picture, soon deleting both the original and the new pictures entirely.

The Fisher Cats are in Hartford, Connecticut today, and the Bisons are in Pawtucket, so it’s easy to see why some fans would be quick to speculate that the son of the Impaler would be called up to the big club.

This is, to say the very least, a fantastically amusing stunt. It becomes even more amusing when you take a look at this tweet posted by the official account of the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, for whom Vladdy G currently plays:

Were the Fisher Cats in on this whole thing from the beginning? It’s hard to say, but either way, the Fisher Cats’ media department took advantage and relished in the sudden virality of one of their brightest young stars. Both the Fisher Cats and Guerrero Jr.’s official accounts received significantly increased web traffic in the wake of this hilarious gag.

More from Toronto Blue Jays News

• Matt Chapman has been exactly what the Blue Jays needed
• Blue Jays: The goalposts are moving in the right direction
• Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays advance to the Championship Series
• Blue Jays: Comparisons for Alek Manoah’s Second Season
• Blue Jays: Adam Cimber, the unlikely decision King

On the factual side of things, Mike Wilner of Sportsnet reports that a source close to the organization has told him that Guerrero is unlikely to get called up at any time this summer, let alone in mid-May.

Whether or not you support the decision to keep Vlad in the minors for a little while longer, one must admit that this is an amazing light-hearted joke, and who knows, maybe we could see some other interesting developments as this crazy story comes to a close.

After it’s all said and done, both pictures have been deleted from his Instagram, and, as Ben Nicholson-Smith reports, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is staying in New Hampshire. Several other reputable reporters confirmed Nicholson-Smith’s report, so it is with great comedic sadness that I say that Vlad Jr. is not joining the Blue Jays…yet.

Next: Blue Jays: Which dead contract has gotta go?