Montreal-born Vladimir Guerrero Jr. signs $500-million, 14-year deal to stay in 'second house'

TORONTO (AP) — Calling Canada his “second house,” slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. signed his $500-million, 14-year contract with the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday.

Guerrero, 26, was born in Montreal while his Hall of Famer father Vladimir Sr. was playing for the Expos. The younger Guerrero signed with the Blue Jays as a 16-year-old in 2015 and made his big league debut in 2019.

“I was born here and this is my second house,” Guerrero said in English on Monday. “I’ve spent a lot of time here in Toronto and Canada. When a country gives you love, you’ve got to give the love back, you know? That’s what I’m doing right now.”

Guerrero typically speaks in Spanish and uses a translator when taking questions from reporters, but spoke only English on Monday.

Edward Rogers, executive chair of team owner Rogers Communications, called Guerrero “truly a historic franchise player,” and said the contract represented “an historic deal for Canada and for this club.”

“This was the right move for the Jays, and that’s the way that we looked at it,” Rogers said. “Vlad started his career here. We also considered him family and wanted him to stay, right from the start. It’s a great long-term deal that will make the Blue Jays more competitive, increase our chances to win and be contenders.”

Guerrero is a .288 career hitter with 160 homers and 514 RBIs. The four-time All-Star is batting .302 with no homers and seven RBIs in 16 games this season.

“He’s demonstrated that he’s among the most impressive offensive performers in the game,” Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro said.

A two-time Silver Slugger, Guerrero was the AL Gold Glove award winner at first base in 2022. He won the MLB Home Run Derby at the 2023 All-Star Game in Seattle, matching his father’s 2007 achievement. They are the only father-son duo to win the derby.

Beyond offensive talent, Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins said Guerrero’s enthusiastic and energetic personality is an attractive quality.

“He brings not only elite competitiveness but that signature smile that everyone wants to be around,” Atkins said. “Certainly I do. I know his teammates embrace it and will continue to.”

Blue Jays players George Springer, Anthony Santander, Andrés Giménez and José Berríos were on hand for Monday’s event, and cheered loudly after Guerrero signed his new deal.

Also in the crowd were manager John Schneider, associate manager DeMarlo Hale, first base coach Mark Budzinski, as well as Guerrero’s wife, daughter, and extended family.

Guerrero agreed in January to a $28.5 million, one-year contract that avoided arbitration, and had said he wouldn’t negotiate after he reported to spring training in mid-February. Still, talks with his agent continued into the regular season before the deal was struck last week.

The Blue Jays announced the contract while on the road at Boston last Wednesday.

Guerrero’s deal is the third-largest contract in total dollars behind outfielder Juan Soto’s $765 million, 15-year contract with the New York Mets that started this season and two-way star Shohei Ohtani’s $700 million, 10-year agreement with the Los Angeles Dodgers that began last year and is heavily deferred.

Guerrero’s $35.71 million average annual value under the new deal ranks eighth among current contracts behind the agreements of Ohtani ($70 million), Soto ($51 million), Philadelphia pitcher Zack Wheeler ($42 million), Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge ($40 million), Texas pitcher Jacob deGrom ($37 million), Dodgers pitcher Blake Snell ($36.4 million) and Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole ($36 million).

Guerrero’s deal includes a record $325 million signing bonus that protects the money from a possible work stoppage in 2027.

“It’s just another mechanism that was a win-win for the team and the player,” Atkins said of the hefty signing bonus. “He benefits from the guaranteed nature of it, there are some small accounting benefits to him and there are some small accounting benefits to the Blue Jays as well. It was just an avenue for us to find a way to get closer to the finish line.”

Atkins declined to offer specifics on how those “accounting benefits” impact the Blue Jays. Guerrero’s portion received as a signing bonus presumably will be exempt from state income tax in Florida, where he is a resident.

The signing bonus includes $20 million payable within 30 days of the agreement’s approval by Major League Baseball. The remainder is due each June 30 from 2026-39: $13 million in 2026, $14 million in 2027, $16 million in 2028, $18 million in 2029, $20 million each in 2030, ‘31 and ’32, $22 million apiece in 2033 and ’34, $23 million in 2035, $24 million in 2036, $29 million in 2037, $31 million in 2038 and $33 million in 2039.

Guerrero gets salaries of $17 million each in 2026 and ’27, $16 million in 2028, $15 million in 2029, $14.5 million apiece in 2030, ’31 and ’32, $12.5 million each in 2033 and ’34, $11.5 million in 2035, $10.5 million in 2036, $7 million in 2037, $6.5 million in 2038 and $6 million in 2039.

He would earn a $150,000 bonus for winning an MVP award, $125,000 for finishing second in the voting, $100,000 for third, $75,000 for fourth and $50,000 for fifth. Guerrero would get $50,000 each for making the All-Star team or winning World Series MVP, a Gold Glove award or a Silver Slugger. He would get $25,000 for League Championship Series MVP.

In addition, Toronto will provide Guerrero with four seats for all regular-season home games and a luxury suite at a discounted rate, subject to availability, for all regular-season and postseason home games.

Guerrero was asked Monday about the future of teammate and shortstop Bo Bichette, who is eligible for free agency following the World Series. Both sons of former big leaguers, the two came up together through Toronto’s minor leagues and debuted a few months apart in 2019.

“I can’t control his destiny,” Guerrero said. “I hope he stays here with me, from the bottom of my heart, but I can’t control that.”

___

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb