The Boston Red Sox’s longshot dream of signing Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was squashed. Just after midnight on April 7, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic confirmed that the infielder had reached an agreement with the Toronto Blue Jays on a 14-year, $500 million extension.
Guerrero set a deadline to have all negotiations completed or paused before the start of Toronto’s spring training, but the Jays were persistent and locked up their franchise player. He’s the second American League East star to forgo his self-imposed extension deadline this spring after Garrett Crochet signed a six-year, $170 million extension with the Sox on April 1.
MLB insider Jon Heyman detailed the progress of Guerrero’s deal in a Twitter post. As recently as last offseason, the Blue Jays offered him $300 million. Guerrero posted a .323/.396/.544 slash line with 30 homers and 103 RBI in 2024 to earn his megadeal, but Juan Soto’s record-breaking contract no doubt played a role in his high demands.
Guerrero has received some heat in his career for his body type seemingly detracting from his athleticism, but he’s actually a solid defender in the infield corners. The righty earned a Gold Glove in 2022 with a -4 range, according to Baseball Savant. Still, the going consensus is that Guerrero will become a designated hitter someday, as will Soto.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Juan Soto’s contracts show Red Sox’s Rafael Devers extension is aging well
Vlad Guerrero Jr. gained $200M-plus by waiting a little more than a year. The Jays’ offer before the 2024 season was around $300M. But after he posted a .940 OPS in 2024 and Juan Soto signed for $765M the landscape changed and he got $500M.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) April 7, 2025
If $500 million is the new baseline contract for players who will eventually become star DHs, the Red Sox signed Rafael Devers at the right time. The 28-year-old inked a 10-year, $313.5 million extension before the 2023 season, the largest contract in Red Sox history, the year before he was slated to become a free agent.
Guerrero and Soto are both slightly younger than Devers when he signed his extension, and both tend to get on base at a higher clip, but Guerrero and Devers have similar profiles. Devers was a career .280/.343/.510 in the seven seasons before he signed his extension and Guerrero batted .288/.363/.500 in the six seasons before his.
The Red Sox may have gotten lucky with the timing of Devers’ free agency. They had just lost both Mookie Betts and Xander Bogaerts in a trade and free agency, respectfully, and Shohei Ohtani or Soto hadn’t yet signed their astronomical deals. A smaller market and desperate circumstances set the Sox up for success.
Toronto was also growing desperate to sign some top-tier talent. The Blue Jays have whiffed on every major free agent they’ve attempted to sign in recent years, including Ohtani, Soto, Corbin Burnes and Roki Sasaki. Despite Guerrero’s high asking price, they didn’t have a choice but to sign the Canadian-born infielder long-term.
Guerrero’s extension suggests contract prices for sluggers are rising fast. Devers became a DH sooner than he was expected to, but the Red Sox still signed him for a solid price since the market shifted quickly in just two seasons. The largest deal in Boston’s history is small potatoes compared to what Guerrero and Soto got from their respective teams.
