Potential Yankees Superstar Free Agent Target Inks Huge Extension With Rival

The New York Yankees have lost out on their chance to bid on who was supposed to be the prize of MLB free agency next winter.

As first reported by Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the Toronto Blue Jays and superstar first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. came to an agreement late Sunday evening on a 14-year extension worth $500 million.

The deal is the third-largest in MLB history behind only Juan Soto's contract with the New York Mets and Shohei Ohtani's with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Blue Jays had negotiated with Guerrero Jr. throughout this past offseason to try to get something done, but the slugger appeared bound to hit the open market when he essentially told the media that the two sides were not very close to reaching an agreement.

Clearly something changed over the past month, however, and perhaps Toronto became more willing to meet his demands, especially with the Yankees among other spend-happy teams chomping at the bit to pursue one of the best hitters in baseball.

Whether or not New York would have wooed Guerrero Jr. in free agency will never be known, though there's no question that he would have been a tremendous fit in the Bronx.

The Yankees plugged their hole at first base this offseason with a one-year deal for Paul Goldschmidt, who turns 38 in September and is a short-term solution.

Bringing in Guerrero Jr. as New York's first baseman of the future (and stealing him from a division rival, to boot) would have satisfied fans who have grown tired of watching superstars like Ohtani, Soto, Mookie Betts and Bryce Harper sign elsewhere.

A four-time All-Star, the 26-year-old Guerrero Jr. has slashed .287/.362/.498 over his MLB career, which is now in its seventh season. He's also launched 160 home runs with 511 RBI in 829 games.

Perhaps most important, he has been reliable and durable, playing at least 156 games in each of the last four seasons prior to 2025.

Now, instead of getting the chance to throw their hat in the ring with a huge offer, the Yankees will have to deal with Guerrero Jr. in the American League East for presumably the remainder of his career.

While the Blue Jays have not presented a massive threat in Guerrero Jr.'s career thus far, he is the kind of slugger teams build a roster around. With him in the fold, perhaps Toronto is going to take the next step as a franchise sooner rather than later.