Former MLB Executive Believes Toronto Blue Jays Star Changed the Market 'Forever'
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The Toronto Blue Jays likely breathed a sigh of relief when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit his first home run of the season on Wednesday in what became long-awaited through the first part of the campaign.
They likely breathed a much deeper and louder sigh of relief when the superstar slugger inked his 14-year, $500 million contract extension that keeps him with the franchise for what should be the rest of his career.
After not getting something finalized before the season started, there was real concern that the face of the Blue Jays would walk out the door, leaving this organization in flux when it came to how they were going to create a competitive team going forward.
Now, with Guerrero locked up for the long-term, they at least have one building block in place to build around with some other star players in the mix, as well.
But what Guerrero did not only impacted Toronto; it impacted the future of Major League Baseball.
Former MLB executive Jim Bowden believes that this extension will change the market for star players forever, with the superstar signing something that was almost $200 million more than what others got before him.
"Guerrero should have been comped to players like Manny Machado, Rafael Devers, Francisco Lindor, Corey Seager, Trea Turner, Fernando Tatis Jr., Bryce Harper, Mookie Betts and Aaron Judge — all of whom signed contracts between $300 million and $365 million. The Guerrero signing means that impending free agent Kyle Tucker can now expect a contract north of $500 million if he has a strong season. Vlad changed the market for star players forever," he wrote for The Athletic.
It's great for the players, but not so great for the teams.
Of course, the salaries over the years have gone up exponentially, with both Shohei Ohtani and Juan Soto inking deals that are $700 million or more, which was unheard of in United States team professional sports.
After Guerrero signed his massive contract, that could also impact free agency.
Will players no longer feel the need to hit the open market to get their monster payday?
Perhaps.
What the Blue Jays and Guerrero did certainly gives other high-end players in their arbitration years more reason to negotiate big money deals with their current teams.
Whether those franchises will follow in the footsteps of what Toronto did remains to be seen.
But those are problems for the other 29 franchises in the sport, because as the dust settles on this historic extension, the Blue Jays have their superstar for the rest of his career.
