Toronto Blue Jays Offered Vladimir Guerrero Jr. $500 Million Contract, Per Report

All-Star first baseman Vladimir Guerrero reportedly turned down a $500 million offer from the Toronto Blue Jays this winter, in part because deferrals brought the present value below $450 million.

Dunedin, Florida, USA; Toronto Blue Jays designated hitter Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (27) warm up before the start of the spring training game against the St. Louis Cardinals the at TD Ballpark. | Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images

The Toronto Blue Jays offered first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. a $500 million contract prior to spring training, the New York Post's Jon Heyman reported Tuesday.

Guerrero, evidently, turned it down.

However, there were significant deferrals included in the offer that brought the present-day value of the deal down to between $400 million and $450 million, per Heyman. According to The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal, Guerrero is seeking $500 million without any deferrals – or some higher overall number with a present-day value at or above $500 million once any potential deferrals are accounted for.

Toronto awarded Guerrero with a $28.5 million salary for the 2025 season to avoid his final year of arbitration, which is the third-highest mark ever. Had he accepted the Blue Jays' offer prior to his self-imposed Feb. 18 deadline, Guerrero would have the third-largest contract in MLB history.

Shohei Ohtani and Juan Soto are the only players above Guerrero on both of those lists.

Guerrero has appeared in each of the last four All-Star Games. The 25-year-old has a Gold Glove and two Silver Sluggers under his belt, on top of second-place, sixth-place and 16th-place finishes in the AL MVP race.

In 159 games last season, Guerrero hit .323 with 30 home runs, 44 doubles, 103 RBIs a .940 OPS and a 6.2 WAR. He is a .288 hitter with an .863 OPS since making his MLB debut in 2019, averaging 32 home runs, 35 doubles, 100 RBIs and a 4.3 WAR per 162 games.

Guerrero has already made two All-MLB First Team appearances in his career. He has missed a total of 12 games over the last five seasons.

Since it became clear that Guerrero would be hitting the open market this coming offseason, the New York Yankees, New York Mets and Boston Red Sox have been mentioned as his most likely landing spots.

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