Vladimir Guerrero Jr. won his arbitration case with the Toronto Blue Jays and, as a result, won a 2024 salary of $19.9 million, it was announced Wednesday.
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Guerrero's victory — which was first reported on X by Sportsnet's Shi Davidi — is the highest arbitration amount ever awarded in a case that was decided by a hearing, by over $5 million. It also must come as a huge relief for the Blue Jays' slugger, given that this was his third time going through the uncomfortable arbitration process.
Arbitrators rule in favour of Vladimir Guerrero Jr., per source. He will earn $19.9m from the Blue Jays this season.
— Shi Davidi (@ShiDavidi) February 8, 2024
Arbitration is the process that the MLB and its players union use to settle salary disputes. It essentially involves the player in arbitration being told by their team why the club doesn't want to pay the player what he thinks he deserves.
Then, once the player gives his stance on why he's worth however much he's asking for, the matter is decided upon by independent panel — which, in Guerrero's case, ruled in the player's favor.
Guerrero hasn't been quite as productive in his past two seasons as his monster 2021 year — when he hit .311 with 48 home runs, was named All-Star Game MVP and finished as the runner-up in American League MVP voting. However, he has still produced a more-than-respectable .804 OPS (on-base plus slugging) with 58 homers over the past two seasons combined.
Not to mention that Guerrero is still just 24 years old and likely hasn't hit his prime yet.
According to MLB.com, the Blue Jays were trying to pay Guerrero $18.05 million — which is less than $2 million under what the Blue Jays slugger was asking for (and ultimately received). This is rather ridiculous, considering that the Blue Jays' payroll is estimated to be $250 million in 2024. So why were they so opposed to paying perhaps their best player an extra $2 million on top of that?
Regardless, Guerrero will be getting his desired salary and, barring a trade, will remain a Blue Jay until at least after the 2025 season, when he is currently set to become a free agent.
Now it's up to Toronto to convince their two franchise cornerstones — Guerrero and Bo Bichette — to re-sign with the team before they both hit free agency after 2025.
