The magic number to sign Vladimir Guerrero Jr. appears to be $500 million.
According to reports from The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal and the New York Post’s Jon Heyman on Tuesday, the Toronto Blue Jays superstar wants a new contract of $500 million in present value before deferrals.
The Blue Jays’ last offer before Guerrero’s self-imposed Feb. 18 deadline — the day of Toronto’s first full-squad workout at spring training — was around $500 million, but with significant deferrals that would have reduced the contract to between $400-$450 million in present-day value, Rosenthal added.
A contract of $500 million present-day value would be the second-largest contract in MLB history, ahead of Shohei Ohtani’s deferred $700 million deal, which carries a present value of $460.8 million, according to Rosenthal.
It would be behind only the 15-year, $765 million contract Juan Soto signed with the New York Mets earlier in the off-season after finishing third in AL MVP voting and helping the cross-town New York Yankees return to the World Series.
Tuesday’s reports also line up with what Guerrero told ESPN on Friday.
“It was the same number of years (as Juan Soto’s contract), but it didn’t reach ($600 million). The last number we gave them as a counteroffer didn’t reach 600,” Guerrero said in Spanish while speaking with ESPN’s Enrique Rojas and Ernesto Jerez.
“I know the business. I lowered the salary demands a bit, but I also lowered the number of years… I’m looking for 14 (years). I would like 14, 15, even 20 if they give them to me, but doing it the right way.”
Guerrero also dropped his resistance to having deferrals as part of the deal as his deadline approached, Rosenthal reported.
Though his Feb. 18 deadline came and passed without an agreement, Guerrero did admit that day he would be open to reviving the negotiations with the Blue Jays if there was a “realistic offer presented.”
Guerrero is coming off an excellent season of his own. He batted .323 with 30 home runs, 103 RBIs and a .940 OPS, providing the Blue Jays some much-needed offensive production in a disappointing season.
Even though the soon-to-be 26-year-old enters 2025 with his future up in the air, Guerrero continues to insist that his focus remains on the field.
“There was an exchange (of salary figures). The meetings lasted until the last day of the deadline, but (the Blue Jays and Guerrero’s agents) couldn’t reach an agreement on the numbers. But as I’ve always said, just because we couldn’t reach an agreement, I’m not going to change the way I work. I have to keep working,” he added in his interview with ESPN.
