DUNEDIN, Fla. — The Toronto Blue Jays are thrilled with what they saw from Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the World Baseball Classic.
Of course, the club would like all its players who participated in the tournament to be successful, but in Guerrero Jr.’s case, the level of play he flashed for the Dominican Republic shows that his focus has remained the same as it was last October.
Guerrero Jr. elevated his game during the Blue Jays’ run to the World Series, launching eight home runs and posting a 1.289 OPS across 18 post-season games while playing impeccable defence. Over his five WBC contests, Guerrero Jr.’s production was just as elite, with the first baseman clubbing two homers and three doubles while not striking out in 18 at-bats.
His .944 slugging percentage was higher than Junior Caminero, Fernando Tatis and Juan Soto, and Guerrero Jr.’s 116.1 m.p.h. double off Team USA starter Paul Skenes in Sunday’s semifinal was the hardest-hit ball the star right-hander had allowed in his major-league career.
Guerrero Jr. also brought the same energy to the WBC that he did in the 2025 playoffs. Check out this slide.
With the Dominican squad losing, 2-1, to the U.S. in their do-or-die matchup, Guerrero Jr. will return to Dunedin this week and rejoin Blue Jays teammates who believe that the superstar has learned how to push his body to a new level.
“Excited to see Vladdy put it together for a full season,” said one Toronto player. “If he can do that, he’s the MVP.”
Guerrero Jr. finished second in American League MVP voting in 2021, when he hit .311/.401/.601 with 48 home runs and 6.5 wins above replacement. His regular-season production since then has oscillated between good and great, however, there are reasons to believe there’s another gear for Guerrero Jr., who turned 27 on Monday.
“He’s locked in,” said the teammate.
Progress for Cease, results for Yesavage
Right-handers Dylan Cease and Trey Yesavage faced minor-league hitters at the Blue Jays’ player development complex on Monday and accomplished different goals.
Cease tossed five innings and 76 pitches and deemed the outing a success. His goal was to build endurance and get into a better rhythm of using his legs to drive toward the plate.
“I made really great strides today,” Cease said. “I really like where I’m at right now.”
Yesavage, meanwhile, logged two frames and 35 pitches, the same number he tossed on Wednesday in his last outing. He had trouble finding the strike zone during that minor-league simulated game, yet this time, the right-hander displayed stronger command and achieved better results.
He expects to throw three innings in his next outing, but isn’t sure whether that will be in a Grapefruit League game or against minor-leaguers. With Opening Day less than two weeks away, it’s possible Yesavage could continue his buildup during the regular season.
The Blue Jays are bringing the 22-year-old rookie along slowly due to his heavy workload last year and if he opens the campaign in the starting rotation, he could be tasked with just three or four innings and be followed by left-hander Eric Lauer, who’s continuing to stretch out.
Whatever the club ultimately decides, Yesavage is on board.
“I have all my faith in the staff here, so just taking it day by day with them,” he said.
Ponce’s challenge
Cody Ponce sat beside Shane Bieber while observing parts of Cease and Yesavage’s outings on Field 2 at the PDC and that was a prime example of what the right-hander is trying to accomplish in his first camp with the Blue Jays.
Ponce, who signed a three-year, $30-million deal in the off-season after spending last season in Korea and the previous three in Japan, is in the process of creating relationships with his new teammates and learning more about them through conversation.
Funnily enough, Ponce has been aiming to talk less during those conversations.
“The challenge for me right now is not talking as much,” Ponce said recently.
He noted that when he played in Asia, there were only a few people on his teams who he could converse with on a regular basis. He doesn’t speak Korean or Japanese and that left Ponce feeling muzzled, in a sense.
“You become a little lonely,” he said. “But (now) I get to talk again and have conversations with people and (I have to) just catch myself and make sure I don’t have too much conversation all the time and just be able to listen a little bit more.”
