Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is not Juan Soto, and he knows it.
With Guerrero’s contract expiring after the upcoming season, he and the Blue Jays looked to settle on an extension but were ultimately unable to come to an agreement.
Since the fellow young star Soto agreed to a 15-year $765 million contract with the Mets this offseason, this brought claims that Guerrero, the four-time All Star, was demanding something similar — but his price tag didn’t even reach $600 million.
“It [was] much less than Soto. We’re talking about many fewer millions than Soto, more than a hundred million less,” Guerrero told ESPN.
Last season, Guerrero batted a career-best .323 with 30 home runs, 103 RBIs and a .940 OPS.
As for Soto, he hit .288 with 41 home runs, 109 RBIs and a .989 OPS.
Their numbers are certainly in the same ballpark, but Guerrero didn’t expect the same monetary numbers.
“It was the same number of years [as Soto’s contract], but it didn’t reach [$600 million],” he said. “The last number we gave them as a counteroffer didn’t reach 600.”
While he did not request money in a similar ballpark as Soto’s deal, he hopes for a similar number of years but had to lower that ask too.
“I know the business,” Guerrero told ESPN. “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.”
The negotiations lasted as long as they possibly could have before falling through and ultimately setting up an interesting future for the 25-year-old Guerrero following this season.
“The meetings lasted until the last day of the deadline, but [the Blue Jays and Guerrero’s agents] couldn’t reach an agreement on the numbers,” Guerrero said. “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.”
