The Toronto Blue Jays have locked the toletero Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to a long -term contract extension that could see that the face of the franchise spent his entire career with the only major league team in Canada.
Two days after reports arose, the two parties had agreed an agreement, the tiles made it official on Wednesday afternoon by confirming that Guerrero has signed an extension of 14 years worth $ 500 million of the US.
“This is a monumental moment in the history of the franchise,” said team president Mark Shapiro, in a statement. “Vlad has been part of our Blue Jays family since he was 16 years old and has captured the heart of our city and country.
“Today there are very few in the game that they can say that they have played for more than two decades with the same team, and we are immensely grateful, the fans of the tiles can see Vlad finish their career where it all started.
The agreement is the most lucrative in the history of the team, far exceeding the agreement of $ 150 million and six years that gardener George Springer signed as a free agent in January 2021.
The extension is the third largest agreement in a total of dollars behind the Juan Soto MLB agreement of $ 765 million, 15 years and the agreement of $ 700 million and 10 years of Shohei Ohtani, 10 years with the Los Angeles Dodgers that began last year and diffuses strongly.
‘I love Blue Jays’ fans’
Look | The Blue Jays block Guerrero Jr. to register the 14 -year extension:
According to the reports, the Toronto Blue Jays have reached an agreement of 14 years and $ 500 million to extend the contract of the first base of the Superstar Vladimir Guerrero Jr., the richest agreement in the history of the Jays and the second largest in the history of the major baseball leagues.
Guerrero is in the last year of his current contract that pays him $ 28.5 million. Without an extension, four times there could have reached free agency this fall.
“I love our tile fans,” Guerrero said. “They have supported me all my career and made me feel appreciated every day. My family and I have a special connection with our second home in Toronto, and I feel lucky to continue with my father’s legacy and represent an entire country.
“I am very proud to use the ARCE sheet and be part of an organization with the same goal: to bring championships from the World Series back to Canada.”
The Blue Jays won the Fall Classic in 1993. They arrived at the Commodines Round in three of the last five seasons, but they have not won a postseason game since 2016.
Toronto comes from a last place in the east of the American League. The Blue Jays, who started the day at the top of the classification of the division with 7-5, were scheduled to visit Boston’s red socks on Wednesday night.
The former general manager of the Blue Jays, Alex Anthopoulos, signed Guerrero as a 16 -year -old in July 2015.
The native of Montreal, which represents the Dominican Republic internationally, hit .323 last season with 30 homers and 103 ranked races. Since 2021, he is the leader of the American League in Hits (733), and occupies the second place in total bases (1,286) and third in homers (136).
The average annual value of $ 35.71 million under the new agreement occupies the eighth place among current contracts. Ohtani ($ 70 million) leads the way in AAV with Soto ($ 51 million) behind him.
“As proud owners of the tiles, we are committed to building a championship team and we are delighted to have Vlad’s leadership as one of the best players in the game,” said team president Edward Rogers, executive president of Rogers Communications. “Today is a victory for the best baseball fans.”
In 2021, Guerrero hit .311 with 48 homers and 111 races promoted in 2021 to end secondly in Al MVP voting behind Ohtani, then with the Angels Angels.
The first 26 -year -old base was sixth in the MVP vote last year.
Upon entering the game on Wednesday, Guerrero was still looking for his first homer of the year. It had an average .255 with four ranked races.
The two -time Silver Slugger was named MVP of the stars game in 2021, won a gold glove in 2022 and was home run’s derby champion in 2023.
“Franchise players such as Vlad do not appear very often,” said the general manager of the Tiles, Ross Atkins. “It has already reached impressive levels of performance and its future is even brighter. Vlad has been accepted by the city of Toronto and Canada since day 1 and we are delighted that he is with us in the long term.
“His ability to excel in the pinnacle of the game coincides with his passion for it and the joy that brings to the field every day.”
