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Blue Jays celebrate pending Guerrero deal and a win over Red Sox
There was a lot of excitement around the Blue Jays clubhouse about Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s pending deal. And things only got better Monday night after a win over the Red Sox.
BOSTON – Bo Bichette’s got sources, so word of Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s agreement with the Toronto Blue Jays on a $500-million, 14-year extension, pending a physical, didn’t exactly catch him by surprise.
“Luckily, I was in the know a little bit earlier,” he said with a grin inside the Toronto Blue Jays clubhouse before a 6-2 victory over the Boston Red Sox on a miserably cold and misty Monday. “Super excited for him. Something that he wanted, something the organization wanted. Seems like it’s going to be a good marriage, so super excited for him.”
Bichette was far from alone in that excitement about a monumental deal that, once finalized, firmly commits the Blue Jays to continued attempts at contention with a core group under threat due to several expiring contracts the next two off-seasons.
“You just solidified your organization here, hey, we know who’s playing first now for the next 14 years. That solves so many different pieces … provides a lot of clarity. That definitely forces the window to be open,” noted Max Scherzer. “You don’t sign him like that unless you think you’re going to win.”
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“Oh for sure,” concurred Kevin Gausman. “It’s a huge step for the organization and the front office to say like, hey, this is our guy, that’s all that matters right now, we need to lock him down. I’m glad they did that. And it shows that there’s no rebuild or anything like that, that we’re serious about holding on to the players that we like and that we know are going to be really good. I’m sure there are some other guys that they’ve had conversations with. Obviously, they just locked down (Alejandro) Kirk, so it’s been a pretty good (stretch).”
Though the agreement was reached as late Sunday became early Monday, the Blue Jays weren’t able to finalize the deal as they worked through finding all the resources needed to conduct a physical on the road. The hope is to complete and announce the contract in the next day or two, with a more formal unveiling next week in Toronto.
Blue Jays manager John Schneider, who first met Guerrero in 2016 before managing him for the first time at single-A Dunedin the next season, tap-danced carefully around the matter, saying, “I can’t really comment on reported deals right until anything’s official.”
Then, he quickly added that, “I can talk about Vlad … I’ve been lucky enough to be right next to him, watching him grow and perform. He’s a huge part of our team and hopefully a big part of our team for a long time.”
The stability offered by such an extension, were one to happen, “is really positive for the trajectory of what you’re trying to do going forward,” he added.
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Second baseman Andres Gimenez agreed.
“It means a lot, obviously, and it makes everyone happy,” he said. “It’s special for me because it’s been a long road for us. We used to do tryouts together back in 2014, 2015 (before signing as international free agents). To see how everything goes in just 10-years time is pretty crazy. Playing with him is also amazing.”
The differences between Guerrero now and then?
“Same guy. Just rich, you know?” he said laughing.
Gimenez began playing against Guerrero in 2017, the same year the four-time all-star first baseman teamed up with Bichette, first at low-A Lansing and then at advanced-A Dunedin.
The duo became fast friends and have been linked ever since, progressing up the ladder together before establishing themselves in the big-leagues and becoming stars.
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Like Guerrero was, Bichette is a pending free agent after this season and his future now becomes one of the central questions for the Blue Jays moving forward.
“My goal as a kid was always to be with an organization my whole career and build a winning culture,” he said. “Obviously, that shifted to being with the Blue Jays forever and building a winning culture with Vladdy. Nothing’s on the table right now and I’m just focused on the game.”
The possibility of continuing to build that culture over the long-term with the Blue Jays “would be my preference,” said Bichette, as “I think we’re building something and I think we’re only getting older with more experience that is going to allow us to do that. But I have this season to worry about.”
To that end, Bichette doubled and scored during a two-run third that helped propel the Blue Jays past the Red Sox. George Springer, leapfrogging Alejandro Kirk into fifth in the batting order, collected four hits, three of them RBI singles, and helped pace the offence to back a brilliant Jose Berrios, who allowed one run over seven imposing innings.
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To persevere through a biting cold that made “my body feel slow, feel frozen,” while also creating challenges with his grip on the ball, Berrios said he worked to “beat the weather mentally” from the team’s arrival Sunday, determined to compete the way he did.
Another boost came with word of the Guerrero deal, as Berrios recalled how “from the first day I got here, I saw his personality, his talent is amazing, he was born to play this game and now he has that blessing, 14 years, that amount of money.”
“I’m happy for him. I’m excited,” Berrios continued. “I know I have this year and three more (seasons on his contract), so hopefully I can spend my career here, too, playing beside him, trying to bring a trophy for Toronto.”
Guerrero had two hits and a walk, scoring the second run in the third inning moments after ducking away from a Springer foul liner, hilariously directing Springer to hit the ball into fair territory, which he did two pitches later.
“He doesn’t like getting the ball hit at him and I said, ‘Well, imagine what it’s like for other guys on third when you’re hitting.’ He hits the ball a lot harder than I do,” Springer quipped, although his feelings about Guerrero’s pending extension are far more serious.
“It shows the level of commitment the organization has to the players, to the team, but most importantly, the fans, the city, the country,” he explained. “I firmly believe and I’m not going to stand down from it, that (his name) is going to be hanging in the rafters and he’s going to be one of the greats, especially on our team. I couldn’t be happier for us as an organization, but him especially, and also for the fans who are going to get to see him play at home for a long time.”
