Another MVP-like showing proves Vladimir Guerrero Jr. deserves to be a career Blue Jay

Fans of the Toronto Blue Jays are wondering why the club has been extremely quiet in making upgrades when there are players available right now that could boost the club's fortunes. If the recent World Series taught us anything about baseball, then the Blue Jays need to start accumulating stars as soon as possible. What if they already have one right under their nose?

At this rate, fans are wondering if the continued dithering on a long-term contract for Vladimir Guerrero Jr. may cause another superstar to blow off Toronto once again. A Guerrero extension and a press conference celebrating it should have happened by this point. This is a player who never gets in trouble, says all the right things, answers every question, plays hard, and has become an important leader in a clubhouse that needs one. Sounds like a five-tool player to me!

Guerrero has played five full seasons at the sport's highest level and consistently put up splendid production. He has never posted an OPS-plus under 106 and has a career mark of 137. Oh yeah...Guerrero plays almost all the time. In the four full seasons since 2021, he has never played fewer than 156 games.

His list of accolades include a four-time All-Star, two Silver Sluggers, a Gold Glove and Home Run Derby champion. He found himself among the top 20 most popular jerseys sold on the online MLB shop this season. Plus, he will be 26 years old by the start of next season. There are still plenty of prime years coming. Sure, there are moments when he isn't perfect like getting picked off second base in the Wild Card series in Minnesota. The base running can be erratic at times. Nobody's perfect.

This past season may have taken the cake. As Blue Jays broadcaster Buck Martinez has noted on occasion, this season may be all the more impressive because of who was hitting around Guerrero in the lineup on a daily basis. Unlike 2021, there was no Teoscar Hernandez or Lourdes Gurriel Jr. to offer protection for the big guy. No matter, as he still posted a scorching hot .323/.396/.544 with 30 home runs,103 RBIs, 98 runs scored and a .940 OPS.

One could be forgiven for thinking Guerrero's home run in the season opening game against the Rays would only portend smooth sailing ahead. On the contrary, the waters turned choppy in those first few weeks of the season as Guerrero struggled. Sports radio was littered with segments in which they deemed his 2021 season as the anomaly. Thankfully, those narratives were quickly put to rest as he dramatically turned his season around in all the important offensive categories.

What makes it all the more obvious to make Guerrero a career Blue Jay is that he wants to stay here. Every star athlete on a bad team seems to demand a trade when things are going south. Setting aside his chatter about the New York Yankees, Guerrero has said all the right things about wanting to win at a high level in Canada. The spotlight will now shift to the Blue Jays brass to give him the best shot at making that happen.

Plus, Guerrero cares about the team and not just himself. It is Guerrero who absorbed the Blue Jays' near playoff appearance in 2021 pretty harshly. It is Guerrero who has a strong supporter in Jose Berrios that believe he is the linchpin for further success. It was also Guerrero who went to arbitration with the club last winter and won his hearing. Toronto needs to get serious and really ask themselves if they are prepared to pay this guy. The answer to that question will go a long way towards determining if he will become a career Blue Jay.