Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is making MLB’s lockout case for them, one boo at a time

Based on how he played Friday night, you’d think Vladimir Guerrero Jr. didn’t get the message that the Toronto Blue Jays are still mathematically alive in the AL Wild Card race. But by the time he spoke with reporters following a 7-4 loss to the AL East rival Orioles, it was clear that Guerrero Jr. understood both the magnitude of his poor performance and that the Rogers Centre crowd had officially lost their patience with the six-time All-Star.

Mired in what is easily the worst season of his eight-year career, Guerrero Jr. went 1-for-4 with two strikeouts and was back-picked at first base in the first inning. Barely 17 months after signing a 14-year, $500 million extension, Guerrero heard nonstop boos and profanities thrown his way throughout Friday’s loss.

The Blue Jays dropped to 73-75 and sit two games behind Cleveland for the AL’s final Wild Card spot.

“If they want to keep doing it, that’s all [the power] to them,” Guerrero Jr. said. “It’s nothing personal. I’m not taking it [personally] because they paid [for] the ticket. … They can do whatever they want.”

Not only can the fans do whatever they want, but the same applies to MLB owners — and it’d be hard to blame anyone hesitant to hand out a massive deal after seeing Guerrero Jr.’s terrifying regression.

On one side of the coin, you have to give the Blue Jays credit for being open to meeting Guerrero Jr.’s demands rather than letting him leave for the Dodgers or Mets, both of which had the budget and track record to potentially hand him a similar contract should he hit free agency.

That said, it’s objectively easy to understand why the league included contract limits in its most recent CBA proposal. We’ve said it before: These mega deals never work as intended, and they’re typically only forgivable if the player in question wins a championship. But even if the Blue Jays knocked off the Dodgers last November, we’d still be pointing to this contract as one to potentially avoid replicating because of how uncharacteristic Guerrero Jr. has looked all season.

For context, consider Guerrero Jr.’s averages from 2021-25 to what he’s done this year:

If Guerrero Jr.’s power drought were the only problem, we wouldn’t be ringing the alarms at full strength. But his exit velocity is significantly down, and his walk rate has plummeted. There are no indications that Guerrero Jr. is hurt, so what gives?

There’s a reason the Tigers’ Kevin McGonigle contract and the Pirates’ Konnor Griffin extension are considered “team-friendly” deals. Both are in their early 20s and, assuming that they don’t sign another extension, will hit free agency before turning 30. Although the Cardinals’ JJ Wetherholt will be 32 when his contract ends, he’s also an older prospect.

We’re not trying to invoke revisionist history; the question isn’t whether they should have signed Guerrero Jr. to such a massive contract. But if you’re an owner outside of the New York, Chicago, or Los Angeles markets, why would you feel comfortable giving a player anything more than seven or eight years at this point?

Guerrero Jr. has also failed to elevate the Blue Jays from a leadership perspective, which is almost as concerning as the on-field numbers. When you reward someone with that kind of contact, you’re expecting them to be the face of the team and the man who can rally the troops before things get out of hand.

Instead, you have a player encouraging fans to boo because they’re not happy with the product. Toronto entered Saturday with a "tragic number" of 12, and questions continue to mount about John Schneider’s status.

But at this rate, Blue Jays fans won’t need to worry about booing Guerrero next year — not unless they plan to partially blame the impending lockout on him, of course.