Toronto Blue Jays President Sounds Confident His Team Will Re-Sign Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Guerrero and the Blue Jays didn't come to an agreement before a self-imposed deadline, but Mark Shapiro still believes something will get done.

Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (27) wears a green MLB hat for St. Patrick’s day during a spring training game against the New York Yankees at TD Ballpark on March 17. / Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Toronto Blue Jays management is still confident in its ability to sign Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to a long-term contract.

The two sides failed to reach an agreement earlier this spring, with Guerrero setting the first day of spring training as his deadline for negotiating. From his perspective, he's now going to reach free agency.

On Thursday, President Mark Shapiro said the following, courtesy of Sportsnet's Shi Davidi:

When it comes to Vladimir's contractual situation, I guess my overarching feeling is one of optimism. I think we’re going to sign him. I think we’re going to extend him. The reason I feel that way is because we have such a clear alignment on the desired outcome. Vlad wants to play his whole career as a Toronto Blue Jay. We want him to end his career in a Blue Jays uniform to be a true legacy player for the Toronto Blue Jays. That's a pretty good place to start. The chalenge has been, that area we've talked about before, finding the sweet spot of sharing risk. What defines that sweet spot. Different contracts, different moments in time that make it more or less of a challenge, ultimately, sometimes free agency provides the clearest answer to that. Could be before free agency, could be during free agency, but I’m optimistic we will sign him.”

During an hour-long conversation with media in Dunedin, Mark Shapiro expressed optimism that the Blue Jays at some point will extend Vladimir Guerrero Jr. pic.twitter.com/wzy8H1Ifpo

— Shi Davidi (@ShiDavidi) March 20, 2025

Now, disgruntled Blue Jays fans are probably to hear that the organization is committed to trying to lock up its superstar, but at the end of the day, it takes two sides to want to negotiate. Guerrero has made it clear that he's going to talk to every team in free agency, so the Jays will have to up their offer if they can get him off that stance.

He's coming off a year in which he hit .323 with 30 homers and 103 RBI. He also made the All-Star team for the fourth time, won a Silver Slugger, and finished sixth in the American League MVP voting.

The Jays finished 74-88 last season, good enough for last place in the American League East, but with additions of Anthony Santander, Jeff Hoffman and others, they feel better about their chances this year.

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