Angels Named Top Landing Spot for $427 Million Superstar in Free Agency

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and the Toronto Blue Jays announced Tuesday that they couldn't reach an agreement on a contract extension, setting the stage for the star infielder to explore free agency next offseason.

According to Jim Bowden of The Athletic, the Angels might want to prepare for the contract that Guerrero will command.

Bowden named the top 10 teams to land the $427 million superstar and the Halos rolled in at No. 10.

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"No team has a worse recent track record than the Angels in terms of acquiring star position players with long-term contracts that haven’t worked out," Bowden writes. "From big signings to big trades, it’s been bad.

"Remember the trade with the Blue Jays for Vernon Wells (in which they inherited $86 million of his seven-year, $126 million deal)? Or signing Albert Pujols to a 10-year, $254 million contract? Or the $125 million pact with Josh Hamilton. Or, more recently, the seven-year, $245 million agreement with Anthony Rendon? Or even Mike Trout’s 12-year, $426.5 million deal? Ouch.

"Do the Angels have the gumption to try again and attempt to land a superstar like Guerrero? They’ve rolled the dice in the past and lost big, but perhaps a deal with the son of former Halos star, Hall of Famer Vlad Sr., would break the cycle?"

With no agreement reached, Guerrero stated that he intends to focus on the season as a pending free agent. However, he later added that he remains open to considering a "realistic" offer from the Blue Jays.

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"Listen, I want to be here. I want to be a Blue Jay for the rest of my career," Guerrero said. "But it's free agency. It's business. So I'm going to have to listen to 29 more teams and they're going to have to compete for that."

In six seasons with Toronto, Guerrero has established himself as one of the league’s most dangerous hitters. Last year, he posted a .323/.396/.544 slash line with 30 home runs and 103 RBIs. When free agency arrives in November, he’s expected to attract massive offers from big-market teams.

In his six MLB seasons, Guerrero has hit .288/.363/.500 with 160 home runs, 507 RBIs, and 551 strikeouts against 349 walks across 3,540 plate appearances.

Guerrero's father, Vladimir Guerrero Sr., spent six seasons with the Angels in his Hall of Fame career. He made four All-Star appearances and won the 2004 MVP award as a member of the Halos.

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