Toronto Blue Jays Fail to Agree to Deal with Star; May Now Head to Arbitration Hearing

The Toronto Blue Jays and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. failed to reach an agreement ahead of Thursday's arbitration deadline. They now could be headed to a hearing.

The Toronto Blue Jays and star first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. failed to reach a contract agreement on Thursday, meaning they are likely headed to an arbitration hearing.

Per Shi Dividi of Sportsnet on social media:

The Blue Jays filed at $18.05m, Guerrero at $19.9m.

 The arbitrator must pick one or the other.

The Blue Jays filed at $18.05m, Guerrero at $19.9m. The arbitrator must pick one or the other. https://t.co/1sZjCjX5uH

— Shi Davidi (@ShiDavidi) January 12, 2024

If the Jays and Guerrero were to agree on a multi-year deal, then the hearing would not be necessary, but otherwise, that's where they are headed.

The 24-year-old has two years of team control left, so it's possible that the team tries to avoid the hearing by just coming to an agreement for those two years, but it seems unlikely.

It's widely regarded as a bad thing when player and team go to a hearing. If the Blue Jays want to sign Guerrero Jr. long-term in the future, you never want him to feel like he was undervalued. The team fighting him over a little more $1 million is surely a way to do that. Some players will look at it as "just business," but others take real offense to it (see Corbin Burnes in Milwaukee last season).

Guerrero is coming off a relative down year in Toronto, where he hit .264 with 26 homers but he is still one of the more productive hitters in baseball. After making his debut in 2016, he's a lifetime .279 hitter with 130 home runs. He led the league in homers in the 2021 season.

Through five years, he's already a three-time All-Star, a Home Run Derby champion and a Gold Glover.

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