Report: Red Sox the early favourites if Vladdy reaches free agency
Published
The Toronto Blue Jays and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. weren't able to come to an agreement on a contract extension ahead of the deadline the star first baseman previously set, indicating he will test the free agent market next winter.
Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports the Boston Red Sox are the very early favourites to land Guerrero after the 2025 season with the New York Mets in second, assuming first baseman Pete Alonso opts out, and the New York Yankees third.
Bob Nightengale of USA Today also said the Red Sox would be in good position to land him, reporting that Guerrero has told friends he'd love to play for the Red Sox should he reach free agency.
The star first baseman said previously during the off-season he did not intend to negotiate an extension once he arrived for spring training. The Jays began full squad workouts Tuesday morning without a deal in place.
“They had their numbers. I had my numbers," Guerrero told reporters Tuesday morning in Dunedin, Fla.
“I’m here. We didn’t get an agreement. Now, they’re going to have to compete with 29 other teams," he said.
Guerrero added that he and the team were not close to an agreement during negotiations.
“It just depends on how you define ‘close.' That’s too big of a word to talk specifically about and I’m not comfortable talking about numbers,” general manager Ross Atkins said Tuesday after Guerrero spoke.
Guerrero is coming off one of his best seasons in 2024, hitting a career-best .323 with a .544 slugging percentage. He also had 30 home runs, 2013 RBI and a .940 OPS in 159 games. It was his best season since finishing runner up to Shohei Ohtani in MVP voting in 2021.
The son of Hall-of-Fame outfielder Vladimir Guerrero, Vladdy signed with the Jays as a 16-year-old international free agent in the summer of 2015 and quickly turned heads as he made his way up the farm system. He made his big league debut in April of 2019 as the most anticipated prospect in team history and is heading into his seventh season with the organization.