Former Blue Jays playoff heroes speak out on Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s viral comment controversy

Who's having a worse week? Toronto Blue Jays fans or Vladimir Guerrero Jr.?

One would argue it's Blue Jays fans, after seeing their beloved team eliminated from postseason contention just a year after they were American League champions. The sting of missing out on another deep playoff run will sit in the minds of fans in the coming months.

Realistically, it's Guerrero Jr. who's currently facing the wrath of fans after his comments about his 15-year, $500 million contract he signed in 2025. The last thing you want to hear after a poor season is "they paid me for what I already did." But in the last few days, it's not just fans speaking their minds. You also have former Blue Jays who shared their thoughts and may be the loudest voices for Vladdy.

Josh Donaldson, Russell Martin, and Kevin Pillar don't hold back their words

Let's start with the Blue Jays' second-ever American League MVP, Josh Donaldson. During an episode of the "Get It Done League" podcast, Donaldson did not hide his feelings regarding Guerrero Jr.

"I think [Guerrero Jr.'s ] expectations are too high. You have to put in the body of work, and that's what you get the $500 million for. I don't think he's a $500 million player," said Donaldson. The comments come in light of Guerrero Jr.'s stats in 2026, where he's slashing .263/.360/.360 with an OPS of .695 and nine home runs, a significant downgrade from his last two seasons.

Former Blue Jays catcher and All-Star Russell Martin spoke about baseball's psychology and worried that Vladdy's approach has gone awry.

"When you start struggling, you start trying to do too much, and too much means you get outside of your approach; you start swinging at pitches you shouldn't. It snowballs. That happened to Vladdy, and he never got out of it. You can see he wants to get two hits per at-bat."

Then there's Kevin Pillar, who, on Foul Territory, spoke on Vladdy's character, and didn't shy away from what he felt.

"The timing couldn't be any worse. When English is the second language, you do give those guys an extra opportunity to be like, "Do you realize what you said? This is exactly how it translated," and I just think it shows a little bit of immaturity. It's just something that didn't really need to be said at this point in time."

What better people to express what's going on than three franchise veterans who learned to connect with the fans in their own way? Especially with Donaldson, Martin, and Pillar being part of a more recent generational Blue Jays run in the 2010s, a group that all fans today can connect with. Vladdy has a long road ahead to patch up the rift that's slowly developing with fans.

While the solution isn't instant, it'll help to surround yourself with veterans who can help you get back on the right track. As Arash Madani on the Get It Done League podcast said, "You don't know when baseball's going to start next year, which means a longer offseason for Vlad in his own head to wonder what it's going to take to take that next step."

Time to get to work.

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