Toronto Blue Jays

Toronto Blue Jays star Vladimir Guerrero Jr. will make $19.9 million in the 2024 season after winning his arbitration case on Wednesday, according to the Associated Press.

The Blue Jays had made an $18.05 million arbitration offer, but the three-person panel of Scott Buchheit, Walt De Treux and Jeanne Charles sided with Guerrero's request. It's the highest salary arbitration ever awarded in MLB history.

Guerrero, 24, has quickly emerged as one of baseball's most feared sluggers, hitting .264 with 26 homers, 94 RBI, 76 runs and a .788 OPS in 2023. By his own lofty standards it was something of a down year—he had 48 homers and an incredible 1.002 OPS in 2021 and 32 homers and a .818 OPS in 2022.

He's now a three-time All-Star and was the AL MVP runner-up in the 2021 season. He also won a Gold Glove in 2022 for his defensive work at first base, is the defending Home Run Derby champion and will serve as the cover athlete for MLB The Show 24.

So yes, Guerrero has quickly emerged as a bonafide star in his five-year career, and was a worthy candidate to set a new arbitration record.

That process has been good to the young slugger, who agreed to a $7.9 million figure in 2022 and a $14.5 million deal ahead of last season. He is eligible for arbitration one more time before becoming an unrestricted free agent ahead of the 2026 season.

It would make sense for the Blue Jays to offer him an extension in the next year or so, though Guerrero may seek out the potential bidding war he could create in free agency as a premier slugger in his prime. He certainly will be in the market for a major deal, especially if he returns to the level he showed in 2021.

He's already told reporters he's made some adjustments to his swing, so a monster season could be incoming.

"I improved my mechanics to have as little movement as possible," Guerrero said. "To the naked eye, you might not even notice. I can tell the difference because I can feel it."

The Blue Jays will be hoping opposing pitchers feel it too.

Despite his season-long struggles in 2023 that included getting demoted to the Florida Complex League, Alek Manoah isn't going to be traded by the Toronto Blue Jays.

Per MLB Network's Jon Morosi, the Blue Jays have rejected calls from other teams interested in trading for Manoah.

Morosi noted Manoah "has had a very good offseason of workouts" and is expected to be in Toronto's starting rotation this season.

It would be foolish for the Blue Jays to trade Manoah right now when his value is as low as it has ever been. He went 3-9 with a 5.87 ERA and 1.74 WHIP in 87.1 innings over 19 starts last season.

Things got so bad for Manoah that he was demoted to their rookie-level complex league team in June.

Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins said the decision was to give Manoah an opportunity to work out his mechanical issues and take a step back from the emotional grind of struggling against big-league hitters.

"It is so subtle and so small that patterns (are created)," Atkins said. "And if the wrong pattern starts to (emerge), making that adjustment while competing can become too difficult. So, I think getting him out of the most competitive environment in the world and allowing for him to create a new pattern, closer to the one he had in previous years, is what needs to occur."

Manoah was called back up to the MLB club on July 7. He made six starts before being optioned to Triple-A after an Aug. 10 loss to the Cleveland Guardians, but he refused to report to Buffalo and didn't pitch again in 2023.

The 26-year-old looked like he was on track to become one of the best pitchers in MLB prior to last season. He finished eighth in AL Rookie of the Year voting in 2021.

Manoah went 16-7 with a 2.24 ERA and 180 strikeouts in 196.2 innings during the 2022 campaign. He was third in AL Cy Young voting and named to his first All-Star team.

This season will be Manoah's final pre-arbitration year. The Blue Jays can see how he looks in spring training before making any final determination about his spot in their rotation.

Toronto Blue Jays star Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is the cover athlete for MLB The Show 24.

The cover was revealed on Tuesday as part of a documentary about Guerrero being filmed in his home country of the Dominican Republic by the makers of the video-game series:

The cover features Guerrero putting his fingers to his lips to indicate the "quiet" gesture.

During the 2021 season, Guerrero told Shi Davidi of SportsNet.ca he makes the gesture after hitting homers "basically just to let my work do the talking."

Ramone Russell, MLB The Show's product development, communications and brand strategist for Sony, told MLB.com's David Adler it was a "really easy" decision to select Guerrero for the cover of this year's game and the process of filming him in the Dominican:

"I'm pretty sure we were the first sports video game developing studio to do this. We said, 'Hey Vlad, instead of you coming to San Diego [where the game is produced], how about we go to your hometown, and you show us some of the places that are really important to your life and how you grew up?' So our fans can connect the dots and see that through-line of everything he went through to become such a great athlete and now be on the cover of the game."

This is also a historic moment for the Guerrero family. Vladimir Guerrero was the cover athlete for MLB 2006, which was the final version of the previous iteration of the series before it became The Show.

Guerrero Jr. joins a list of recent cover athletes that includes Shohei Ohtani, Fernando Tatis Jr., Jazz Chisholm Jr., Javier Báez, Bryce Harper and Aaron Judge.

MLB The Show 24 drops on March 19 for the PlayStation 5, XBox Series X/S and Nintendo Switch.

Coming off another strong season, Justin Turner is going to bring his bat to the Toronto Blue Jays in 2024.

Per MLB Network's Jon Morosi, Turner has agreed to a one-year deal with the Blue Jays.

Turner spent the 2023 campaign with the Boston Red Sox after signing a one-year deal with the club. His contract had a $13.4 million player option for a second season, but he declined it on Nov. 3.

There was some risk for the 39-year-old to turn down that much guaranteed money, but his steady presence over the course of his career gave him plenty of leverage in contract negotiations.

Turner hit .276/.345/.455 with 23 homers and 96 RBI in 146 games for the Red Sox. It was the seventh consecutive season he's had a batting average of at least .270, on-base percentage of at least .340 and slugging percentage of at least .430.

At this stage of his career, Turner is probably best suited to be a first baseman or designated hitter. He had a minus-five outs above average rating last season, worst of his career since MLB began tracking the metric in 2016.

As long as Turner can maintain his offensive performance at this late stage of his career, the Blue Jays will have no problem getting a good value for its investment. He ranked in the 86th percentile of all players in batting run average and 91st percentile in whiff rate.

Turner's barrel rate was only 5.7 percent, leaving open the possibility that his power production will decrease away from the small left field at Fenway Park.

But a player who makes contact and draws walks at the rate Turner is able to do can be an impact hitter in any lineup.

Despite making the playoffs in each of the past two seasons, the Blue Jays have been trending in the wrong direction. Some of their key players have either regressed due to age or haven't developed as expected after previous breakout years.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is still a solid player, but he hasn't played at the same level since finishing second in AL MVP voting in 2021. Cavan Biggio has been a below-average hitter by OPS+ in each of the past three seasons.

George Springer's 102 OPS+ in 2023 was the worst of his career. Matt Chapman and Brandon Belt are free agents.

At this stage of his career, Turner doesn't answer all of the questions facing Toronto's roster, but he will certainly help the offense if he remains healthy.

As long as the Blue Jays don't ask Turner to overextend himself, he can make a difference for them in a loaded American League East.

After missing out on Shohei Ohtani in free agency, the Toronto Blue Jays are still in the market for a big bat to add more power to their lineup.

Per Héctor Gómez of Z101 Digital, the Blue Jays are willing to offer Jorge Soler a multiyear deal with the New York Mets and Boston Red Sox also showing interest in the All-Star slugger.

Gómez reported on Thursday that Boston was considered the frontrunner for Soler, who is seeking a deal of at least three years.

Things seemed to have changed in 48 hours for the Red Sox, with Saturday's update from Gómez noting they will likely "be outbid" for Soler.

The Mets have been trying to find someone who can upgrade their production at designated hitter. Soler, Teoscar Hernández, and J.D. Martinez have all been linked to them this offseason.

Hernández is off the board after signing a one-year, $23.5 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday.

Outside of their interest in Ohtani, this has been a very quiet offseason in Toronto. Isiah Kiner-Falefa is the only free agent signed by the team so far.

The Blue Jays are in a tough spot with the Baltimore Orioles looking like a potential juggernaut with arguably the best young core in MLB and more top prospects on the way; the Tampa Bay Rays still have a deep roster of talent after trading Tyler Glasnow; and the New York Yankees are going to have Juan Soto hitting in front of Aaron Judge.

There's still a good core group of players on Toronto's roster, but there were signs of regression last season. George Springer had the worst OPS+ of his career. Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s OPS+ has dropped by 50 points since he finished second in AL MVP voting in 2021.

Matt Chapman could leave a big hole at third base if he leaves as a free agent. He hit .240/.330/.424 and won a Gold Glove at the hot corner last season.

Soler doesn't add anything defensively, but he's got as much power as anyone in the sport. The 31-year-old made his first All-Star team last season and hit .250/.341/.512 with 36 homers in 137 games for the Miami Marlins.

Veteran outfielder Kevin Kiermaier will remain in The 6 for at least one more season.

Kiermaier and the Toronto Blue Jays have agreed on a one-year, $10.5 million deal ahead of the 2024 campaign, per USA Today's Bob Nightengale.

Despite the deal, the Blue Jays still have interest in Cody Bellinger, Nightengale added.

The contract is the first major move of the offseason for the Blue Jays, who reportedly pursued Japanese stars Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto before both agreed to deals with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Kiermaier joined the Blue Jays ahead of the 2023 campaign after spending the first 10 years of his career with the Tampa Bay Rays.

The 33-year-old was excellent last season, winning the fourth Gold Glove of his career and first since 2019. He also posted his best offensive season since 2017, slashing .265/.322/.419 with eight home runs, 36 RBI and 14 stolen bases in 129 games.

The retention of Kiermaier keeps Toronto's strong outfield together as Daulton Varsho and George Springer remain on the roster. Kiermaier figures to be the team's starting center fielder in 2024 with Varsho in left and Springer in right.

After finishing third in the AL East last season with an 89-73 record and falling to the Minnesota Twins in the wild card, more moves could be on the horizon for the Blue Jays.

Both Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette have generated trade interest this winter, The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal reported last month, though it seems a return would have to be pretty significant for the franchise to move either player.

With Kiermaier locked up, the Blue Jays can at least shift their attention to making upgrades in other areas.

It feels as though the Cincinnati Reds have been engaged in trade talks for second baseman Jonathan India for the better part of the last six months and according to Jon Morosi of MLB.com, those talks have only intensified since the team added Jeimer Candelario in free agency.

One team whose name has been all over free agency rumors, reports, and innuendo this offseason, the Toronto Blue Jays, appear to be one of those clubs interested in adding India to their roster, as reported by Canadian Baseball Net's Bob Elliott.

It has been a disappointing offseason for the Jays to this point, particularly after appearing to be so close to signing Shohei Ohtani, only to watch the greatest two-way player in baseball history ink a historic deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers instead.

The team is still in the hunt for 25-year-old righty Yoshinobu Yamamoto and has been linked to other free agents and trade chips this offseason, but the India deal makes the most sense of all of them.

The Jays have a need at second base. Whit Merrifield played some at the position in 2023, but is now a free agent. Cavan Biggio also saw time there and would likely be the incumbent if the season started today but neither he, nor Santiago Espinal, Davis Schneider, or any of the prospects in the farm system, should inspire a ton of confidence in the Blue Jays faithful.

India, on the other hand, is a quality second baseman who has played the position his entire career and is only a trade chip at this point because of a logjam of prospects coming up through the Reds’ farm system.

He has three years of arbitration left on his current deal and does not become a free agent until 2027, which would give the Jays plenty of time to establish stability at the position.

Offensively, India tallied 111 hits, 17 homers, 61 RBI, and 17 stolen bases in 2023, with a slash line of .244/.338/.407.

Defensively, he had a fielding percentage of .977, the highest of his career. He turned 69 double plays.

An asset offensively and defensively, at a position of need rather than want or one that grabs headlines like Ohtani would have, India is a must-add for a Blue Jays team that could use defensive assistance in the infield.