Vladimir Guerrero Jr. agrees to 14-year, $500 million deal with Blue Jays, AP source says

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. agrees to 14-year, $500 million deal with Blue Jays, AP source says originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and the Toronto Blue Jays agreed to a $500 million, 14-year contract that starts in 2026, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press, a deal that removes what would have been the biggest star from next offseason’s free-agent market.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity early Monday because the agreement had not been announced.

Guerrero’s deal does not include any deferred money, the person said.

Guerrero agreed in January to a $28.5 million, one-year contract that avoided arbitration and the four-time All-Star first baseman had said he wouldn’t negotiate after he reported to spring training in mid-February. Still, talks continued well into the regular season.

Guerrero got 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 Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler ($42 million), New York 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).