The $765 million contract awarded to Juan Soto by the New York Mets last week is happy news for the main interested party, but also for the next major baseball stars waiting for a jackpot, including Vladimir Guerrero son .
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The famous star of the Toronto Blue Jays is the next jewel of major baseball who will go to the bank when he could in turn receive more than $500 million.
Photo Vaughn Ridley / Getty Images via AFP
On the contrary, it is Aaron Judge, of the New York Yankees, who must be biting his fingers right now after concluding, in December 2022, an agreement worth $360 million for nine years. Ah! The poverty of the rich…
Comparables
It goes without saying that the staggering 15-year contract signed by Soto contributes greatly to the possibility that Guerrero Jr. could surpass half a billion dollars. Comparing the two players, we can guess that Soto will remain the holder of the most lucrative contract in the history of professional sports, but how close could his Dominican compatriot come?
“I have known Vlad for several years and I want to have him with the Blue Jays for a long time,” said manager John Schneider, quoted last week on the major baseball website. It happens every year: someone signs an agreement and that raises the stakes a little.”
Soto is 26 years old while Guerrero Jr. will celebrate his 26th birthday on March 16. Already, the Blue Jays player must obtain a salary of $28.8 million in 2025 while he will be entitled to complete autonomy at the end of the next season if he does not sign an extension by then contract with the Jays.
After Ohtani and Soto
The Toronto team could very well decide to retain the services of Guerrero Jr. while it seemed interested in Soto, then also in the Japanese phenomenon Shohei Ohtani who, in 2023, signed a $700 million contract for 10 years with the Los Angeles Dodgers. If Ohtani’s agreement also set the table for that of Soto, it goes without saying that Guerrero Jr. will in turn benefit from these two previous negotiations.
“We must remain disciplined,” said Jays general manager Ross Atkins, following the agreement signed by Soto with the Mets. We always want to be fair and consistent. Nothing has changed regarding our desire to extend Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and we remain very hopeful.”
The Blue Jays’ money is still available while the Mets have gone so far as to grant an average of $51 million per season to Soto. However, in addition to being approximately the same age, Guerrero Jr. and Soto have had some similar statistics since the start of their careers.
Per 162 games, the son of former Expos player Vladimir Guerrero even gets more hits than Soto who, it should be noted, however benefits from walks much more frequently. Guerrero Jr., however, is not far behind in home runs and RBIs, among other things.
400, 500, 600 M $…
Considering the contract obtained by Soto and the madness particularly affecting the Mets, the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers, “Vlad Junior” might be wise to wait and test the free agent market. It’s a safe bet that a minimum sum of $40 million per season could be granted to him. Over 12 years, that represents $480 million. Over 15 years, we are talking about $600 million.
“I’m not worried about Vlad being distracted by all this, he’s going to pay attention to what he needs to do and I think things will work out well for him,” Schneider added, confident that Guerrero Jr. knows another have a good season in Toronto in 2025. Obviously, we especially want it to work for him with the Blue Jays.
Statistics since the start of their career (average over 162 games)
Juan Soto
Age: 26 years old
Circuits : 35
Points produced: 102
Hits: 162
Bases on balls: 133
Points scored: 113
Batting average: .285
Goal attendance rate: .421
Power average: .532
Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Age: 25 years old
Circuits : 32
Points produced: 100
Hits: 179
Bases on balls: 69
Points counted: 94
Batting average: .288
Goal attendance rate: .363
Average power: .500
