Blue Jays’ Guerrero Jr. asked for less than $600M extension: report

After failing to come to terms on a long-term extension with the Toronto Blue Jays earlier this spring, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. opened up about what he and his camp were looking for in negotiations on Thursday.

Guerrero had set a deadline for talks between his camps and the Blue Jays for the day of Toronto’s first full-squad workout at spring training — a day that came and passed without an agreement.

“It was the same number of years [as Juan Soto’s contract], but it didn’t reach [$600 million]. The last number we gave them as a counteroffer didn’t reach 600,” Guerrero said while speaking with ESPN’s Enrique Rojas and Ernesto Jerez.

“I know the business. I lowered the salary demands a bit, but I also lowered the number of years … I’m looking for 14 [years]. I would like 14, 15, even 20 if they give them to me, but doing it the right way.”

Soto, of course, received a 15-year, $765 million contract from the New York Mets earlier in the off-season after finishing third in AL MVP voting and helping the cross-town New York Yankees return to the World Series.

Guerrero is coming off an excellent season of his own. He batted .323 with 30 home runs, 103 RBIs and a .940 OPS, providing the Blue Jays some much-needed offensive production in a disappointing season.

Even though the soon-to-be 26-year-old enters 2025 with his future up in the air, Guerrero continues to insist that his focus remains on the field.

“There was an exchange [of salary figures]. The meetings lasted until the last day of the deadline, but they [the Blue Jays and Guerrero’s agents] couldn’t reach an agreement on the numbers. But as I’ve always said, just because we couldn’t reach an agreement, I’m not going to change the way I work. I have to keep working,” he added in his interview with ESPN.

Through seven games of Grapefruit League action, Guerrero has continued to produce at the plate. He’s hit one home run and owns a 1.121 OPS in the build-up for the regular season.