That was rather exciting last night. I didn’t expect it.
Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. has a contract for 14 years and $500 million. There are no opt-outs or options. I haven’t seen a breakdown of the pay for each season yet. For reference’s sake, Google tells me that Skydome cost $570M to build. Don’t do the math to determine your age when the contract ends.
This is the sort of thing I wish the team had done (with not quite as much money) with Roy Halladay, Carlos Delgado, Tony Fernandez, and I’m sure some others.
Yes, half a billion dollars is too much for a baseball player. And I know that every time he strikes out, we’ll see ‘there’s the $500 million player.’
But the idea that he will be a Blue Jay for life seems like an old-time idea. Like players used to be. Like Cal Ripken. Roberto Clemente. Ernie Banks. Johnny Bench.
There will be good and bad years, but he’s the face of the franchise for the next 14 years. I’d give him the captain label in the next little while if I were running things.
Now, after this season, we don’t have to look forward to years of rebuilding. The competitive window is open for the next 14 years. They have to try to be competitive. It won’t always work, but they will have to try.
This means Vlad will be here for several different managers. The odds are that he’ll be here through the front office changes. There are guys in rookie ball now who will play with him.
We will get to watch him move up the Blue Jays Franchise leaderboards. Right now he’s 23rd in game played. Unless MLB locks players out for several seasons, he’ll break Tony Fernandez’s career record 1450. He’s eighth in home runs, 176 behind Carlo Delgado.
It marks a change for the front office, which prides itself on not going beyond the evaluations it makes for a player. They have missed out on players because they weren’t willing to go beyond what their numbers said.
I imagine Rogers decided to step in. They told the front office, “GET IT DONE.” And, if so, and I have never said these words before, Thank You, Rogers.
Now it is time for the front office to assemble a team around him that can win.