With position players reported to camp for the Blue Jays on Tuesday morning. There was no contract extension By slugging one base hand Vladimir Guerrero Jr., this means that his voluntary deadline to reach expansion was not met, and he is now planning to hit free agency in the next offseason is.
“I’m here. There was no agreement,” Guerrero said through an interpreter. “Now they’ll have to compete with 29 other teams.”
Obviously things can still change during the season, but in many cases, when this happens, players will hit free agents. He could go back to where he started. I saw it happening with Pete Alonso and the Mets. However, this can also mean that the end of the road is coming.
The 25-year-old Guerrero came in second in the AL MVP poll in 2021, finishing sixth last season with .323/.396/.544 (166 OPS+), 44 doubles, 30 homers and 103 RBI in Blue Jays. One of the bright spots was hit as one of the bright spots. He is already a four-time All-Star.
He said the Jays have to compete against the other 29 teams to sign, so let’s try to rank all 30 in the Vlad Jr. sweepstakes. Not all of them have a chance…
There’s no chance
Not every team has the finances to make serious offers to Guerrero. This is where many of these fan bases say they need a pay cap. Some teams are here. Because they don’t dare to spend as much of their ownership as they need to. I’ll also start with two teams that don’t currently have a permanent home. So they couldn’t land Guerrero, even if they could afford him.
30. (Sacramento) Athletics
29. Tampa Bay Rays
28. Miami Marlins
27. Chicago White Sox
26. Pittsburgh Pirates
twenty five. Cleveland Guardians
twenty four. Milwaukee Brewers
twenty three. Cincinnati Reds
The remaining teams listed are one of the smallest markets in baseball, but the White Sox are clearly splitting the third largest market in the league. They are less in terms of revenue, but they should not be relegated to this part of the list yet. They sit here for two reasons. For one, they have been historically bad and undergone a drastic reconstruction last year. There’s no way Guerrero would like to sign with them. Secondly, ownership. The White Sox’s biggest free agent deal was a five-year, $75 million deal with Andrew Benintendy. The A and the White Sox are two teams who never sign a deal worth at least $100 million.
It’ll be agitated by monsters
twenty two. BaltimoreOrioles
twenty one. Colorado Rockies
20. Kansas City Royals
19. Detroit Tigers
18. St. Louis Cardinals
17. Minnesota twins
Teams in this tier likely have ambitious ownership in their dealings with Guerrero, but they are probably not included in the cards. For example, the twins signed Carlos Correa twice to sign a substantial deal, but then the ownership decided to reduce spending. You can run each of these teams, but you don’t really need them. The bottom line means that it doesn’t happen except for something unexpected.
It’s difficult to find a fit
16. San Diego Padres
After being used to seeing the Padres splurge in recent years, it’s hard to shake the feeling they’re definitely going out for a massive free agency. And we see that the ownership situation has probably gotten better during the offseason and have returned to what it was like in the last few years, years before Peter Saidler’s death. However, for now, we cannot rank them highly. Rather than getting bigger for Vlad Jr, it seems they are economically tightening their belts.
15. Seattle Mariners
The Mariners absolutely have the money to win free bids for the services of players like Guerrero, but since grabbed Robinson Canoni, they have not really flexed in that way. That was over 10 years ago. The Giulio Rodriguez extension was big, but that’s not like trying out a team that outperforms the others. What’s more, the ballpark is very pitchable, isn’t the best selling point for players like Guerrero.
14. Houston Astros
They play in one of the bigger markets in baseball and show their ability to pay large free agents sometimes under the owner’s gym crane. He also talks too often about not wanting to spend money on player salaries. Looking at the way the roster sways alongside Christian Walker on one base, Isaac will do Paredes in third place, but will likely have to move to second or first place. Tucker, a year away from free agency, I just don’t think they’ll become suitors for Vlad Jr.
I can’t count them but…
13. Atlanta Braves
Matt Olson will be locked up until 2029. This means that the Braves don’t need a single base hand and their resources will be used more often elsewhere. Their DH Marcell Ozuna is set to hit free agency after the 2025 season, and I think it’s interesting that he has been extremely productive at the plate over the past few seasons. I don’t know how 2025 will go down, but it’s possible that the Braves feel they need a huge bat in the offseason. I don’t feel this is a brave move.
12. LosAngeles Dodgers
When it comes to dollars, you can’t count the Dodgers. They are still signed by Freddie Freeman until 2027, and Shohei Ohtani has DH in lockdown. They’ll really have to move things to make space for Vlad Jr., and I haven’t seen it. But they are Dodgers so you can’t lower them.
11. New York Mets
Again, with the backing of mega-rich owner Steve Cohen, the Mets should never be counted by free agents who are not far from when players actually hit free agency. . However, after landing Juan Soto in a $765 million adjustment, Francisco Linder was paid $34.1 million a year until 2031, so this is the most likely landing spot. I don’t feel it. They may still have Alonso for the first year before they may need to move Mark Vientos there. Soto may also need to go to DH in the end. My idea is that they need to spend more on helping with rotation to move forward than another slagge hits one base move.
10. LosAngels Angels
Many people love to make connections that Vlad Jr. was 5-10 years old when his father played for the angels. I don’t know if that is important or not.
The key is that the angels have a lot of money and continue to throw the money they said to their problems in desperate attempts to get Mike Trout back into the playoffs.
They actually don’t have a ton of long-term commitments anymore. Anthony Rendon’s contract, Albatross, will end after 2026, but only mass remains in books from 2027 onwards. But it’s been a very poor franchise for a while, but it’s hard to see Guerrero consider it a favorite. But I could be persuaded to smash the Angels into categories.
9. The Chicago Cubs
Top executive Jed Heuer is the final year of his contract. That’s the main X factor here. The Cubs have economic potential, but they don’t show that very often under Hoyer. Is it a proprietary or a product of Heuer’s own? It’s difficult to convey. I don’t know what will happen there, and Kyle Tucker’s imminent free agency is upon us. What if the Cubs fail to re-sign Tucker and Michael Bush takes a step back in his first and second year? There may be an opening.
Under the current structure of the front office, the Cubs are unlikely to pursue Guerrero, but it is very unknown.
Candidate
8. San Francisco Giants
They have recently spent a lot of money on position play talent like Matt Chapman and Willie Adams, but especially Lamonte Wade Jr., who will hit free agency after this season, blocks the possibility of Guerrero’s acquisition. There is no obvious base that will do. It’s a really tough park for batsmen, but the money talk and the Giants were able to show themselves as a strong playoff contender this season. Buster Posey is also selling to free agents now in his Hall of Fame and Championship pedigree, which could be a big plus.
7. Texas Rangers
The 2023 champions are gearing up for the 2025 bounceback season, but there is no long-term answer on the 1 base of the roster. They openly argued that they wanted to dial down their spending after the championship, but if they want to back up things up, Guerrero is a great start. Here are all the ingredients needed for a mutually beneficial marriage.
6. Washington citizen
The Nationals show their willingness to spend a lot of time in the past as they pushed for a title. They got one in 2019 and had expensive talent on hand. Shortly afterwards, they stripped things up and went through a reconstruction, but they start to come out. The only post-mail pay player in the 2025 book past is Keeber Lewis with a very club-friendly deal (8 years, $50 million).
There are some interesting young talent in the lineup of players such as James Wood, Dilncrue and CJ Abrams. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. will be a great veteran in the middle of them. If the Nationals want to lift the pony, it’s a great fit.
5. Philadelphia Phillies
The Phillies are primarily running it in 2025. They are stacked. But they will have JT Realmuto, Kyle Schwarber and Ranger Suárez publish their books before 2026. Schwarber is six years older than Guerrero, so depending on how 2025 goes, it’s obvious that the Phillies could sign Guerrero and jump on the opportunity to let Schwarber walk free agency. They could always see if Blythe Harper had returned to the outfield.
4. Boston Red Sox
This was far better before Alex Bregman signed complex issues with fallout, including Rafael Devers, who refused to leave 3 base. In fact, they were my choice before all this drama.
However, there are many ways to organize this. Maybe Rafael Devers doesn’t want to be a daily DH at this point in his career, but Triston Casas has a bad year or gets injured and has the path that Devers will move first. It’s open. Certainly, the Red Sox circled and signed Guerrero, never creating an even more angry shelter. But perhaps devers will suffer from DH. Maybe Devers will stay at 3 bases, Bregman will be defensive Whiz with 2 bases and Red Sox’s Trade Casas, opening 1 base for Guerrero’s signature. It’s all complicated and a bit muddy water. But it’s amazing that Guerrero will play in the next decade or so of his career at Fenway Park.
3. Arizona Diamondbacks
This is my favorite of dark horses. The D-Back has money and is a frequent reminder of Zack Greinke, and more recently when he signed Corbin Burnes this offseason. Christian Walker, uh, walked free agency and replaced D-Back with a Josh Naylor deal. However, Naylor has been a free agent since this season. The number of things we induce to think they’re leaving the base open is not increasing.
On top of this, diamondback appears to be set to compete in the near future. This is an outstanding fit.
2. New York Yankees
The Yankees made some moves in the aftermath of losing to Juan Soto, and one of them was to grab Paul Goldschmidt for a base. But for the 37-year-old, it’s a one-year deal and he appears to be in a completely decline stage. The Yankees have a lot of financial muscle to win Guerrero’s bids. Almost every free agent can justify and rank the Yankees at the top of their suitor list, but it makes a lot of sense here.
1. Toronto Blue Jays
If the Blue Jays are a serious franchise, they can’t let Guerrero go. It has been years since he has spoken about how he wants to stay if he stepped up to the plate with a legal offer. They are already serious bidders and are losing out for Shohei ohtani and Juan Soto, so if you want to chase players from other teams when there are homemade superstars embedded in the community, then Optical What does the system look like? Are you open to staying?
This could still happen in the season, despite Guerrero claiming he will not renegotiate until winter. If someone asks me to take one team to sign Guerrero now, I’ll take the Blue Jays, but you’ll give me the Blue Jays vs “field” (whichever is the other If you give me the opportunity to take it, it’s not enough to be known” (29 teams), I would take the field.
Buckle up.
