Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro: 'I’m optimistic we will sign Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'

Shapiro also noted that he wants Guerrero Jr. to remain a Blue Jay for life and Guerrero Jr. feels the same way. However, he isn’t sure when it’ll get done, whether it be before free agency or during free agency is anyone’s best guess.

This is the latest development in what has become the poster child of “will they, won’t they”. Guerrero Jr. set a deadline for the beginning of Spring Training to get an extension done, but it was not met. The Blue Jays leaked via The New York Post Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman that they offered $500 million with deferrals worth $400-$450 million in present-day value. On the same day, it was reported by The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal that Guerrero Jr. wanted $500 million in present-day value.

A few days ago, Héctor Gómez reported the Jays were going to come back with a 14-15 year deal worth $550 to $600 million deal but that always seemed a bit dubious at best. In an interview with Yancen Pujols that was taped about two weeks ago but has circulated in recent days, Guerrero Jr. said that his floor is $500 million even if he has a bad season (it’s not). In the same. In the same interview, he said he’d speak to every team, including the Yankees. At what point is this considered a distraction?

I’ll say this though, I don’t remember the whole “will they, won’t they” routine heading into Shohei Ohtani’s final season with the Los Angeles Angels or Juan Soto in his final season with the New York Yankees. It seems like a legitimate possibility that the Blue Jays and Guerrero Jr. find the middle ground at some point in the next year.

They both have to be realistic, though. Given his body of work in the big leagues, Guerrero Jr., a first baseman, probably won’t get anywhere near what Soto did on the open market. In fact, the $500 million the Blue Jays offered may be the most he’d get from any team. For the Blue Jays, they can’t lose Guerrero Jr. for what he provides off the field alone, not to mention if he can consistently hit like he did last season.

Hopefully, this saga will come to an end soon.