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We hope Vladimir Guerrero Jr. stays put and gets extended
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is obviously the biggest chip the Blue Jays have if they were to completely blow up the current team. While there has been rampant speculation about the front office's stance on trading the 25-year-old slugger, if there's any hope for the future of bringing postseason baseball back to Toronto, Guerrero has to be a part of that.
Atkins put everyone's mind at ease at the beginning of June by saying that it doesn't make sense to trade Guerrero. That hasn't stopped rumors from circulating about the franchise player being moved. According to Seattle Sports’ Brent Drecker, the Seattle Mariners are the latest club reportedly aggressively pursuing the Blue Jays’ star, as MLB insider Jon Heyman said on a recent livestream.
So, they're not going to trade him now, while he has extra value with a year of team control. They want to try to build a contender around him in 2025. Why not just pony up and sign him to an extension?
After a less-than-convincing start to the year, the four-time All-Star has dramatically turned things around and taken his place as the premier generational talent the fans have been waiting to see since his 2021 MVP-caliber season. Fans who were "out" on Guerrero should be buying right back in with his performance as he tries to single-handedly carry the offense.
Despite hitting .287, he hit just five home runs in his first 250 plate appearances this season. However, since June 1 he has found his power stroke again. Heading into Friday, he had obliterated 13 homers in 189 plate appearances while slashing .307/.344/.591.
Guerrero knows he'll be paid. Whether the Blue Jays end up being the team that pays him is another matter, but he has said on multiple occasions that he wants to stay in Toronto. We sure hope that after the trade deadline passes, the front office decides to open the pocketbook and ink Guerrero to a long-term extension to set the stage for the next competitive Blue Jays team.