The Blue Jays’ season has already gone off the rails, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is now at the center of the conversation for reasons Toronto never wanted.
After Toronto’s 4-2 loss to the Baltimore Orioles, the Blue Jays were officially knocked out of playoff contention, ending any chance of defending their 2025 American League Pennant. It’s been a rough year all the way around for John Schneider’s club, with injuries, an uneven pitching staff and an inconsistent lineup all helping sink a roster that was built with a lot of offseason spending.
Guerrero Jr.’s downturn has become the clearest symbol of that collapse. The numbers tell the story: over 533 at-bats, he has nine home runs and 56 RBIs, and he didn’t hit his first home run at Rogers Centre until September 13.
That’s not a small dip. That’s a major step backward for a player Toronto counts on to drive the offense.
But what really caught attention was Guerrero Jr.’s own explanation for the slump. In an interview with Veronica Batista, he pushed back on the idea that his contract was tied to producing 40 homers a year.
"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."
He also addressed the way fans have reacted as the season has gone sideways.
"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."
After Wednesday’s loss to Baltimore, Mitch Bannon of The Athletic asked Guerrero Jr. whether he regretted saying that.
"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."
He 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."
Guerrero Jr. is not the only reason Toronto is heading home early, and he made that clear by acknowledging his own season-long struggles. Still, the Blue Jays are looking for accountability, not explanations. Guerrero said he’ll head into the offseason and prepare himself the best way he can, according to Matheson.
For Toronto, this has been a season to forget. And if there’s going to be a real answer in 2027, it starts with Guerrero Jr. finding his old form again.
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