Blue Jays position players reported to camp this morning for the clubs first full-squad workout of the spring, and superstar first baseman set a deadline of today for extension talks with the club ahead of his final season under club control before free agency. That deadline has come and gone, and Guerrero told reporters (including ) this morning that the sides did not reach a deal. adds that Guerrero does not intend to negotiate during the season and now expects to reach free agency, while Hazel Mae relays ( ) that Guerrero noted he would not close the door on signing if Toronto bra s presented him with a realistic offer. Guerrero, still just 25 until March 16, is one of the most accomplished young players in the league and is likely to enter free agency as the most sought-after player available. A four-time All-Star with a Gold Glove award at first base and two Silver Slugger awards under his belt, Guerrero is a .288/.363/.500 (137 wRC+) hitter for his career. That type of offensive talent will always be enticing to clubs in free agency, but what makes Guerrero stand out as a top-of-the-cla s hitter is his combination of youth and ceiling. Few hitters in the game can accomplish what Guerrero has in his peak seasons; his 2021 campaign was second only to in AL MVP voting as he hit .311/.401/.601 (166 wRC+). His 48 home runs were tied with for the most in the majors that year, and his .401 on-base percentage led the American League while trailing only and in the NL. Steps back offensively in 2022 and 23 raised questions regarding whether that otherworldly performance might be a fluke, but Guerrero squashed those concerns by more or le s repeating his 2021 heroics this past season. Guerrero slashed a sensational .323/.396/.544 (165 wRC+) in 159 games for the Jays this past year, hitting just 30 homers in the proce s but making up for that with a career-best 44 doubles and a 13.8% strikeout rate that was the lowest of his career. Just nine qualified MLB hitters struck out le s often than Guerrero in 2024, and among that group only and his 39-homer campaign were able to top Guerreros .221 isolated slugging percentage. Reaching free agency on the heels of his age-26 season should make Guerrero all the more attractive in free agency come November. Guerrero will hit the open market just one year older than was during his own free agency this past winter, and that young age was crucial for Soto in securing his that figures to pay him $765MM over the next 15 years and could max out at more than $800MM. That ma sive payday came in spite of Soto being a limited defender in the outfield corners who does not provide substantial value on the basepaths. While Soto is arguably in a cla s all his own as a hitter, with his career 158 wRC+ nearly matching Guerreros peak seasons, his record payday is still great news for the Jays slugger as theres arguably no better comparison for Soto in the league than Guerrero at his peak. Given that, Reggie Perry Jersey its easy to imagine the bidding for Guerreros services surpa sing half of a billion dollars. That seems to be right around where Guerrero set the bar in extension talks with Toronto, as regarding his asking price have suggested he was looking for north of $450MM. As , Guerrero answered with a simple No when asked if the Blue Jays had put forth an offer that was close to his price point, and given Guerrero said that Torontos offer to him prior to Sotos deal with the Mets sat at $340MM its hard to argue with his a se sment unle s the club brought their offer significantly higher over the course of the offseason. Given the gap between the Guerreros rumored demands and the offer he said the Blue Jays made, its hardly a shock that the sides did not work out a deal. Thats reflected in a last month, where just 19.49% of respondents believed Guerrero would sign long-term with the club before todays self-imposed deadline. Even so, Guerrero made clear to reporters that hed still like to be a Blue Jay for life even as he went on to note that Toronto will now have to compete with 29 other clubs for his services on the open market. On the other hand, he also noted (as relayed by ) his desire to win a World Series championship with his next club. That desire to win could hurt the Blue Jays odds of keeping Guerrero, as they finished dead last in a crowded AL East division with a 74-88 record. They appear to be longshots for the postseason this year as well after the Yankees and Orioles augmented their already playoff-caliber clubs while the Red Sox put together a strong offseason that saw them add multiple star players in and . As for the front offices perspective, club GM Ro s Atkins spoke to reporters shortly after Guerrero did and expre sed disappointment that a deal did not get done, as relayed by . Atkins went on to emphasize that the club worked very hard in their efforts to come together on a deal and added that the motivation on the organizations part to keep their superstar in the fold is still there. Atkins refused to get into specifics regarding numbers and contract offers but described their offer to Guerrero as one that wouldve been record-setting for the Blue Jays and made Guerrero one of the highest paid players in baseball if signed ( ). Atkins also made clear that the clubs inability to get a deal done with Guerrero was not a matter of resources, though thats hardly a surprise given their high-dollar bids for Ohtani and Soto the past two winters. Going forward, the Blue Jays figure to continue trying to win during Guerreros final year of club control. Theyve long resisted the po sibility of trade talks involving their star slugger and, after spending $166MM to add , , , and in free agency this winter while adding another $96.5MM in trade by taking on the contract from the Guardians, it seems unlikely that they would change course now rather than push in for 2025 and hope they can convince Guerrero to return next offseason. Its po sible that they could revisit the po sibility of dealing Guerrero at the trade deadline this summer if theyve fallen completely out of the playoff picture by then, however, and if shopped Guerrero would be the most impactful rental moved at a trade deadline since in 2018. Tyler Johnson Jersey