Mets might be laying groundwork to steal Vladimir Guerrero Jr. from Blue Jays already

Toronto Blue Jays fans who were hoping to see a team-up featuring Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Juan Soto this winter were sadly disappointed when Soto chose to sign with the New York Mets. Unfortunately for Blue Jays fans, there could be a future Guerrero-Soto team-up in New York.

With the Blue Jays' front office desperately trying to figure out a way to sign their first baseman and best player to a long-term extension, time is running out. Guerrero's camp has set a deadline of the beginning of spring training for extension talks. After that, general manager Ross Atkins will have to wait until free agency next offseason and compete with any number of other teams for Guerrero's continued services.

Does 'checking in' on Vladimir Guerrero Jr. foreshadow Mets' desire to swipe Blue Jays star in free agency?

The rest of the league can see how precarious Atkins' situation is. The risk of losing what should be the franchise's cornerstone in free agency next winter looms increasingly large, and the sharks are circling.

According to SNY's Andy Martino, the Mets have "checked in" on Guerrero.

"The Mets have spoken with the Toronto Blue Jays this winter about Guerrero, league sources say, though those sources characterized the conversations as 'checking in,'" Martino wrote on Wednesday.

Given the context of Thursday's update on the Mets, Jays and Pete Alonso, this all begins to make a little more sense.

Let's be clear, this isn't a formal trade offer we're talking about. It sounds like Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns has put the feelers out, and showing interest in the Blue Jays star now might foreshadow what's to come next winter. This becomes even more of a possibility if the Mets can't get a deal done with their long-time first baseman, Pete Alonso — the two sides are currently locked in a weird stalemate.

Mets owner Steve Cohen has the deepest of pockets. Seeing him open his wallet for Guerrero in free agency wouldn't be a surprise, even after signing Soto to the richest contract in sports history in December. Guerrero won't come close to getting Soto's deal, but he's looking for enough that the Blue Jays are having a hard time parting with the cash.

There have also been rumors that the Mets are actually moving forward with the process of assembling a package to present Toronto for Guerrero. Whether that holds any water is another matter entirely. It's also extremely unlikely that the Blue Jays would trade their star hitter before the season.

"It is far from certain that Guerrero will even be available in a trade, or that the Mets will have room left in the budget after signing other hitters and relievers," Martino says. "League sources who have spoken with Toronto this month say that the club is still weighing whether to extend their first baseman."

Guerrero, who will turn 26 before Opening Day, has plenty of hype coming off a season that came close to matching his 2021 MVP-caliber campaign. Hitting .323 with a .940 OPS, 30 homers, 103 RBI and even scoring 98 runs for a Toronto offense that was about as threatening as a wet mop has brought his value back up after a pair of underwhelming seasons at the plate.

If Atkins doesn't get Guerrero locked up before the Blue Jays' first day of spring training, it will be much easier to envision the four-time All-Star playing his home games elsewhere in 2026, perhaps even at Citi Field with Juan Soto.