The Blue Jays’ season is over, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has now put words to the slump that helped sink it.
After Toronto’s 4-2 loss to the Baltimore Orioles, the Blue Jays were officially eliminated from playoff contention, ending their bid to defend the 2025 American League pennant. It has been a rough year across the board for John Schneider’s club, with injuries, an uneven pitching staff and an inconsistent lineup wrecking what was supposed to be a stronger roster after a busy offseason.
At the center of it all has been Guerrero Jr.’s downturn. The production drop has been obvious for months, and he finally addressed it directly in an interview with Veronica Batista.
“I want people to understand one thing. The money they gave me wasn't for what I'm going to do. It was for what I already did,” Guerrero Jr. said, translated by Phillip Feliz on X.
“They didn't pay me because I'm going to hit 40 every year. They paid me for what I already accomplished.
People are confused about that, but I think the same way they do. Like, sometimes I even say to myself: bro, they gave you all that money and you're out here doing nothing.
I try.”
That’s a blunt explanation from Toronto’s franchise player, and it lands in the middle of a season that has fallen far short of expectations. Guerrero Jr. helped power the Blue Jays’ run to the World Series, and nobody is questioning the accomplishments that earned him his deal.
But the present tense has been the problem. In 533 at-bats, he has nine home runs and 56 RBIs, and he didn’t finally hit his first home run at Rogers Centre until September 13.
The fans have felt the drop-off, and Guerrero Jr. knows it.
“You know how it is with fans, when you're good, they're with you 100%,” Guerrero said in the same interview. “But when you smell like sh#t, like we like to say here, nobody supports you.”
Following Wednesday’s loss to the Orioles, Mitch Bannon of The Athletic asked Guerrero Jr. whether he regrets making those remarks.
“No, I don't regret myself. I'm not lying with what I say. I understand some fans, they don't understand the way and what I was trying to say specifically, but what I said is the way I feel.”
Guerrero Jr. also said, via his interpreter Hector LeBron, “Every at-bat when I fail, I think about my contract because I know all of these people who go to the games, they pay to see me being successful, to do something good every at-bat. Every time I think about that.”
He was clear that he is not using the slump as a shield. Guerrero Jr. acknowledged the rough year and said he’ll spend the offseason preparing the best way he can, according to Matheson.
Toronto’s season has been a disappointment from top to bottom, but the path forward still runs through Guerrero Jr. If the Blue Jays are going to get back to where they want to be, they need him to look like himself again.
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