Toronto Blue Jays

Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. reiterated his stance that he would never play for the New York Yankees in a chat with reporters on Friday.

Guerrero previously told radio host El Dotol Nastra in November (h/t Kaitlyn McGrath and Chris Kirschner of The Athletic): "I like to play in New York, I like to kill the Yankees. I would never sign with the Yankees, not even dead."

As The Athletic noted, it's unclear why Guerrero does not like the Yankees. However, his father (Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero) was connected to the Yankees during the 2003-2004 offseason.

Per George A. King III of the New York Post, Guerrero had his eye on both the Yankees and New York Mets during his free agency period.

However, the Yankees ultimately decided to pursue outfielder Gary Sheffield, who then-owner George Steinbrenner preferred, per Tom Verducci of Sports Illustrated. Guerrero signed with the Los Angeles Angels and was named American League MVP.

Guerrero made his comments before the Jays' three-game road series against the Yankees in the Bronx. He announced his presence with a two-run homer in the first inning of Friday's game.

The slugger is up for free agency in 2026 barring an extension before then. He told Sportsnet's Hazel Mae earlier this month that he wants to spend his entire career in Toronto.

Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. won't play in the World Baseball Classic due to a knee injury, per Rob Longley of the Toronto Sun.

The two-time All-Star left Friday's spring training game against the Tampa Bay Rays with discomfort in his right knee.

Manager John Schneider told reporters after the game they were checking out Guerrero's knee to see how it is: "We're playing it safe at this point."

Guerrero previously committed to play for the Dominican Republic in the WBC, which begins on March 8.

The Dominican squad with Guerrero was arguably the favorite to win the tournament. They still boast a loaded roster of talent, including Manny Machado, Juan Soto, Wander Franco and Rafael Devers, to compete with anyone in the field.

Guerrero played at an MVP level in 2021 with a .311/.401/.601 slash line, 48 homers and 111 RBI in 161 games. He wound up finishing second in the AL voting, behind Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani.

Last season was a step back, though Guerrero still played well to help the Blue Jays make the playoffs. He finished with a .274/.339/.480 slash line, 32 homers and 97 RBI in 160 games.

Playing in a loaded division like the AL East does make Toronto's margin for error very narrow. The New York Yankees are the reigning division champs, with the Baltimore Orioles and Tampa Bay Rays likely to be better this year than they were in 2022.

It doesn't sound like Guerrero is going to miss an extended period of time. The Blue Jays open the regular season on March 30 against the St. Louis Cardinals.

The Toronto Blue Jays don't have to worry about whether manager John Schneider can handle a tense situation.

Schneider recently acted quickly and applied the Heimlich maneuver to a woman at a restaurant near the team's spring training facility in Dunedin, Florida.

"Right place, right time," he told reporters. "I was just enjoying lunch with [my wife] Jess. You either help or you don't and I decided I'd go over and see if I could help."

Schneider explained how he first learned the technique in the sixth grade and hadn't ever used it for real. The woman in the restaurant had started choking on a piece of shrimp, and he noticed none of the restaurant's other patrons had moved to act.

"It's not like you're looking for a pat on the back," he said. "She said thank you and carried on with her meal with her friends. We kind of just said, 'See you later.' Again, I wasn't looking for a big compliment. I think I was a little bit more rattled than she was."

Schneider is entering his first full season as Toronto's manager after replacing Charlie Montoyo midway through last year. The team went 46-28 under his watch and finished second in the American League East.

The Toronto Blue Jays have locked up another one of their young stars for the long term after agreeing to a three-year $33.6 million contract with shortstop Bo Bichette to avoid arbitration Tuesday.

The contract can be worth as much as much as $40.65 million if Bichette earns certain awards or escalators, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

Bichette, 24, was supposed to have an arbitration trial later this week, but now he won't become a free agent until the end of the 2025 season.

Ahead of the scheduled trial date, Bichette had filed for his salary to be $7.5 million while the Blue Jays field at $5 million. While the two sides weren't able to initially come to an agreement before the arbitration deadline, they found a way to make it work.

An All-Star in 2021, Bichette has led the American League in hits in each of the last two seasons finishing with 191 and 189, respectively. He's also finished top 12 in MVP voting in both of those years.

He batted .290 last season to go along with 24 home runs, while being one of the key pieces to a very good Blue Jays team that looks to only be on the rise.

In his four seasons in the big leagues, he's hit 69 homers and 239 RBIs, becoming one of the elite offensive shortstops in the game.

"He's always been the guy that kind of [lets] his play do the talking," Blue Jays manager John Schneider said last season. "But now he's really coming into his own, leading not just by example."

The Toronto Blue Jays and first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. have agreed on a one-year, $14.5 million contract to avoid arbitration, per Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.

Guerrero, who turns 24 in March, has played all four of his MLB seasons with the Blue Jays. He had 32 home runs, 97 RBI and a .274 batting average (.818 OPS) for Toronto in 2022. Guerrero also won Gold Glove honors for the first time in his career.

The year before, Guerrero finished second in the American League MVP race after posting an MLB-high 48 home runs, 111 RBI, a .311 batting average and an AL-best 1.002 OPS.

He's been the centerpiece of a team that has excelled over the past three seasons. The Blue Jays made the playoffs in 2020 and fell just one game short of the postseason in 2021 with a 91-71 record. Toronto got back to the playoffs this year after a 92-win campaign proved good enough for a Wild Card berth.

The two-time All-Star is eligible to become a free agent after the 2025 season barring an extension agreement with Toronto beforehand.

The Arizona Diamondbacks are trading outfielder Daulton Varsho to the Toronto Blue Jays for top prospect Gabriel Moreno and more, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan.

Arizona will also receive outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. in the deal, per USA Today's Bob Nightengale.

Varsho, 26, spent the first three seasons of his MLB career in Arizona.

During the 2022 campaign, Varsho spent much of his time playing in center and right field. However, he's pretty versatile and can also play catcher. In 151 games, he slashed .235/.302/.443 with 27 home runs, 74 RBI and 16 stolen bases.

The Blue Jays were in need of some outfield help this offseason, especially after trading Teoscar Hernández to the Seattle Mariners.

Gurriel was Toronto's starting left fielder, but now that he's off to Arizona, Varsho will likely take over that position with Kevin Kiermaier in center field and George Springer in right field.

Varsho is under contract through 2026, and he figures to be a key piece for the Blue Jays moving forward.

Gurriel had spent the first five years of his career in Toronto. In 2022, he hit .291/.343/.400 with five home runs and 52 RBI in 121 games. While he's been a solid player for much of his career, he's not the reason the Diamondbacks decided to give up Varsho.

Arizona parted with Varsho to receive one of the best prospects in baseball in Moreno, who was listed as Toronto's top prospect by Baseball America.

The catcher spent much of his time with Triple-A Buffalo in 2022, hitting .315/.386/.420 with three home runs and 39 RBI in 62 games. The Venezuelan also appeared in 25 games for the Blue Jays in 2022, slashing .319/.356/.377 with one home run and seven RBI.

At just 22 years old, Moreno could emerge as one of the best catchers in baseball by the time he hits his prime.

Veteran starting pitching Chris Bassitt has agreed to a three-year, $63 million deal with the Toronto Blue Jays, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan.

Bassitt joins an already strong starting rotation that features Alek Manoah, Kevin Gausman and José Berríos. The Blue Jays are clearly looking to close the seven-game gap that separated them from the first-place New York Yankees in the American League East.

The New York Mets landed the best arm on the free-agent market when they signed Max Scherzer following the 2021 season. They didn't stop there in addressing their starting rotation and acquired Bassitt from the Oakland Athletics for pitching prospects J.T. Ginn and Adam Oller.

Adding the right-hander looked even more shrewd in retrospect. Jacob deGrom didn't make his 2022 debut until August due to shoulder trouble, and Scherzer missed nearly two months because of an oblique injury.

Bassitt didn't quite match the level that sent him to the 2021 All-Star Game, but he did provide a steady presence for New York on the mound. In 30 appearances, he went 15-9 with a 3.42 ERA and a 3.66 FIP. He also averaged 8.27 strikeouts per nine innings and 2.43 walks per nine.

The 33-year-old led the Mets in innings pitched (181.2) and was third on the staff in WAR (2.7), per FanGraphs.

Bassitt didn't have overwhelming velocity, but he kept opposing hitters on their toes with his six-pitch arsenal. According to Baseball Savant, he ranked in the 95th percentile in average exit velocity (85.7 mph) and 88th in hard-hit rate (32.8).

Bleacher Report's Joel Reuter ranked the Toledo, Ohio, native as the fifth-best starting pitcher in the 2023 free-agent class: "His overall numbers were not as strong as some of the others ranked lower than him on this list, but his long track record of recent success makes it far easier to bank on him continuing to pitch at a high level in 2023 and beyond."

Mets fans still scarred by the Wilpon era may still have reservations about team owner Steve Cohen and whether he's willing to keep spending to bring a World Series title to Flushing.

Cohen continued to address those concerns by handing Edwin Díaz a five-year, $102 million contract almost as soon as the offseason began. Justin Verlander subsequently signed for $86.7 million over two years.

In the case of Bassitt, it wasn't going to take a contract of that magnitude to bring him back, but this franchise is already on track to have one of MLB's biggest payrolls. The front office doesn't have a limitless well of money to spend on free agents.

The Mets' loss is the Blue Jays' gain.