This winter, Juan Soto was the free agent everyone wanted, and the one who got the record-setting contract. Next winter, the most coveted MLB free agent is likely to be Vladimir Guerrero Jr., the 25-year-old Toronto Blue Jays first baseman with 160 career home runs and career .500 slugging percentage. Now, teams hoping to sign the four-time All-Star know the type of contract they will need to offer.
In an interview with ESPN on Thursday, Guerrero revealed the terms he demanded from the Blue Jays when he was attempting to negotiate a contract extension with the team that signed him for a $3.9 million bonus at age 16, when he was an international amateur free agent in 2015.
Guerrero is the son of Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero, who started his career with the Montreal Expos (now the Washington Nationals). As a result, Guerrero Jr. was born in Canada and holds Canadian citizenship. But his baseball development took place mainly in the Dominican Republic.
In the ESPN interview, Guerrero said that he was willing to lower his demands on both the cash value of his proposed contract and the number of years. He said that he wanted as many as 20 years on the deal.
“I would like 14, 15, even 20 if they give them to me, but doing it the right way,” Guerrero Jr. said, according to ESPN, referring to the duration of the contract he wants.
He also said that he is not seeking to equal Soto’s record-setting, $765 million, 15-year deal with the New York Mets.
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“It’s much less than Soto. We’re talking about many fewer millions than Soto, more than a hundred million less,” Guerrero was quoted as saying. “The last number we gave them as a counteroffer didn’t reach 600 (million).”
When the Blue Jays signed him as a teenager, Guerrero played the outfield. But with his bulky body type, the organization quickly moved him to third base. Now at 6-foot-2 and 245 pounds, he is almost exclusively a first baseman and designated hitter. After his 2019 rookie season when he played 96 games at the hot corner, he has played at third in just 14 games.
But the free agent market for first baseman appears to be soft, judging by 2025 results. Mets first baseman Pete Alonso, despite having hit more home runs than any MLB player other than the New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge since 2019, was forced to settle for a two-year, $54 million deal from the Mets after a frustrating free agent period that found him with no takers until spring training was ready to begin.
Depending on his performance in 2025, Guerrero Jr.’s contract demands could rise or fall by the time he becomes eligible for free agency following the 2025 season.
