Paul Ukighir
In the upcoming off-season, Toronto Blue Jays star infielder Vladimir Guerrero Jr. will likely break the record for the biggest contract ever signed by a first baseman in Major League Baseball.
Next winter, many teams will be looking to add a superstar slugger to their roster. It is anticipated that the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees, who are in the same division as the Blue Jays, will be pursuing them.
The New York Mets will probably also put their name in the hat. Forbes’ Daniel Epstein recently projected that when the Blue Jays’ star enters free agency the following off-season, he will sign a contract worth more than $480 million.
“More realistic benchmarks would be the next-highest-paid position players, who are Alex Bregman and Aaron Judge (excluding two-way player Shohei Ohtani),” Epstein wrote.
“They both earn $40 million per year, and Guerrero should expect to surpass that average annual value. On a 12-year deal or longer, that would put his total contract value north of $480 million.”
Predicting a 12-year, $480 million contract would seem fitting. Long-term contracts like this are uncommon for first basemen, but Guerrero is not your average one. He is younger than most when it comes to free agency. In addition, he has more experience than most when he enters free agency. He is expected to sign a slightly less lucrative 12-year contract worth $427 million, according to Spotrac.
It is easy to envision a scenario in which Guerrero signs a contract worth more than $500 million, given that Juan Soto reset the market by agreeing to a record-breaking deal worth almost $800 million. Forbes’ prediction is likely going to be very close to his real deal.
