Blue Jays' Vladimir Guerrero Jr. says his $500M contract was for past performance – not future results
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has four games left before he can put his 2026 Toronto Blue Jays season behind him.
Guerrero, the six-time All-Star who signed the third highest-paid extension in MLB history in April 2025 at $500 million, has hit just nine home runs and slugged .359 to date for a career-low .695 OPS to date.
The Blue Jays, winners of the American League pennant this past season, where Guerrero was a major factor in reaching the World Series, were mathematically eliminated from this year’s postseason race as they hold a 77-81 record entering Wednesday.
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For a player that is worth so much, especially financially, to an organization’s success, Guerrero’s down year has led to some vitriol from the Blue Jays’ fan base. And that’s likely to continue after hearing recent comments from the star infielder.
Guerrero, 27, sat down with Telemicro News recently, where he discussed his struggles at the plate this season, and how it reflects on his contract extension.
His comments were, well, interesting.
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"The contract I got was based on what I did, not necessarily for what I’m going to do," Guerrero said, as translated by MLB reporter Héctor Gómez. "I understand why the fans believe it’s the other way around. Sometimes, I think that way, too, like, ‘Oh, they give me this money, and I’m not doing enough,’ but you know I try my best, and I’m working hard.
"The fans, I know how they are, when you are doing great they are 100% behind you. But when you are not at your best, not everybody is behind you, almost nobody supports you. Those are my real fans, the ones that are supporting me all the time."
After catching heat from Blue Jays fans, Guerrero was approached about the viral quotes, which he responded to.
"That was a quote from the interview when she asked me how I felt about this year," Guerrero said, via MLB.com. "I said that, obviously, I feel really bad about the year that I had, that I couldn’t help my team get to the postseason. I said I felt – that it’s my personal opinion – that every player gets paid for what they have done. With that said, you guys have got to remember that I signed my contract at the beginning of last year, then I did put up a good year. Then, the kind of playoffs that I had to help the team get into the World Series.
"To the fans, I’ve never stopped working very hard. I am going to go into the offseason again to prepare myself the best I can. Physically, mentally, everything that I have like I always do for my team and my teammates."
In Guerrero’s defense, that is technically what the Blue Jays did when they dished out his 14-year, $500 million extension, which is only behind Shohei Ohtani’s 10-year, $700 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Juan Soto’s 15-year, $765 million deal with the New York Mets. The franchise paid Guerrero for what he did from his debut in 2019 up to a fantastic 2025 campaign, where he belted eight homers and hit .397 across 18 postseason games.
But these comments show that Guerrero mustn’t be aware of what putting pen to money-filled paper meant in April 2025. No longer is it time in any sport, let alone Major League Baseball, where contracts are dished out based solely on past performance. It’s looking ahead to the future, where those past performances are expected to continue through a much-more lucrative deal.
MLB franchises sign players to contracts based on the market, and that market is justified by how the player will perform for them later on, while obviously looking at the track record in the past.
With any investment, those dishing out the big bucks want a return.
So, in a season where the home run total for a slugger is less than double digits – he still has time to at least get to 10 – and a career-low WAR (albeit the 2020 COVID-shortened campaign) has been accumulated, the Blue Jays and its fan base have every right to be disappointed. Yes, Guerrero was a major reason why Toronto reached the World Series in 2025, but the team and its fans are also allowed to voice displeasure with not just a down year – a career-worst performance in various metrics.
Would the Mets have dished out the highest-paying contract in league history if they didn’t expect Soto to continue performing at his superstar pace? No.
Would the Dodgers have agreed to give Ohtani $700 million, with heavy deferrals, might we add, to pay him for years without helping them reach their World Series goals? No.
From Mike Trout, to Mookie Betts, to Aaron Judge and the list goes on, every franchise wants to see a player they sign, especially for nine figures, to pay dividends. That’s the reality of the situation, whether Guerrero wants to view his deal as what he’s done in the past.
This is just one season, but Guerrero’s outlook needs to change just as much as his production moving forward on the remaining 13 years of his deal.