With Massive Deal, Blue Jays' Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Joins Rare Club of Ex-Minor Leaguers

And when the contract is executed, he will become part of a club that is almost as rare: a homegrown player who signs a lucrative extension to remain with his team. The list of players who toiled in the minor leagues with their original teams, then signed a deal worth megamillions with that club, is short.

Of the top 20 players in terms of contract value, Guerrero would be one of only five players to ink an extension with the team that originally signed him, according to data from Spotrac.

He is set to join a group made up of: Mike Trout, selected in the first round (25th overall) of the 2009 MLB Draft by the Los Angeles Angels; Rafael Devers, signed as an international free agent by the Boston Red Sox in 2013; Aaron Judge, picked by the New York Yankees with the No. 32 overall pick in 2013; and Bobby Witt Jr., drafted No. 2 overall by the Kansas City Royals in 2019.

Guerrero was an international signing by the Blue Jays in 2019, and he is a four-time All-Star, a two-time Silver Slugger and a Gold Glove winner.

And now, fans who remember the 26-year-old’s days with the now-defunct Bluefield Blue Jays of the old rookie Appalachian League, the former Class-A Lansing Lugnuts, the Class-A Dunedin Blue Jays, the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats and the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons can say they watched the multimillionaire when he was just starting out in the Blue Jays organization.