Blue Jays have “no doubt” Vladimir Guerrero Jr. will rediscover his superstar form

For most of the season, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. looked like a shell of the hitter the Toronto Blue Jays had planned to build their offence around. The production disappeared for long stretches, and the at-bats became painful to watch.

The organization came out today (Wednesday, Sept. 30) and were adamant that the face of the franchise wasn’t hiding an injury. According to Blue Jays’ General Manager Ross Atkins, Guerrero just “lost the rhythm” that makes his swing so dangerous. That evolved into a disruption of his confidence, which then complicated his ability to adjust and prolonged a slide that became historic for all the wrong reasons.

Atkins spoke during his year-end media availability and was pretty direct when addressing questions about Guerrero’s health. MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson reported on X that Atkins said, “He was not hurt. He was not structurally hurt. He was dealing with pain and tightness, which happens to Major League players every year, all the time. All of them.”

Atkins also dismissed the idea that opposing pitchers had discovered a new weakness or that the league had made an adjustment Guerrero could not overcome.

Instead, Atkins said it all came down to everything Guerrero was doing in the batters box, including his toe tap, tempo and forward momentum which wasn’t working together.

“[Guerrero]’s such a dynamic athlete and hitter that it’s a really complex problem,” Atkins said. “Everyone in here can probably emulate his rhythm and tempo, that toe tap and how he creates that momentum. It’s a really impressive thing to watch. As he lost a little bit of that rhythm and timing pretty early in the season, it started to impact his confidence. Once it impacted his confidence, the in-game adjustments and in-season adjustments became very difficult.”

President and CEO Mark Shapiro’s also said that the organization’s belief in Guerrero has not changed. He called Guerrero “one of the most special offensive players in this game and in the history of this franchise.”

But Shapiro also acknowledged how unusual this season was for Vladdy. “I tried to think through whether I’d experienced anything like that,” he said. “I can remember slumps with great players, players who in the past, we were dependent on for success and how that all feels, but usually they don’t last as long as this one lasted. There’s just such an overwhelming level of compassion for him because of our belief in him, the same belief that led us to where we are and the commitment, we made to him.”

Blue Jays’ optimism raises the stakes for Guerrero in 2027

There is no real reassurance in anything Atkins and Shapiro are saying. They are the ones who handed Guerrero a $500-million extension. If he’s not able to correct a flaw in April that becomes a season-long issue, that contract all of a sudden becomes an albatross hanging over the Blue Jays.

Other players felt similar pressures to perform at an elite level this season around the league. Some of them also got off to slow starts, but managed to rebound for a strong finish. Fernando Tatis Jr. with the San Diego Padres posted some dreadful numbers in the first half. Through May 29 he had a .652 OPS, 0 HR, and 0.5 fWAR in 55 games. He finished the year with 25 home runs, an .828 OPS and a 5.4 fWAR in 159 games. Tatis is also on a mega-deal with an average annual salary around $24-million.

Alex Bregman signed a big five-year $175-million deal with the Chicago Cubs in the offseason and had a Vladdy-like season through the end of June, with a .689 OPS, 7 HR, 1.5 WAR in his first 84 games in the Windy City. He turned that around for the North Siders, finishing with a slash line of .265/.355/.464 and a 128 wRC+, with 28 home runs and a 5.5 fWAR.

These are the kinds of numbers Guerrero will have to post to erase any and all memories of his woeful 2026 season. This isn’t just any other player who needs to rebound, it’s the guy who signed the richest contract in franchise history and subsequently had one of the worst seasons in franchise history.  

If health wasn’t an issue, as Atkins and Shapiro have alluded to, then entering 2027 Guerrero needs to try anything and everything to rediscover his rhythm. After a slump this egregious nothing can be left off the table.

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