After four-time All-Star outfielder Juan Soto signed a record-breaking 15-year, $765 million contract with the New York Mets in mid-December, two-time All-Star and 2024 Gold Glove third baseman Alex Bregman was arguably the biggest bat in MLB free agency for most of the winter.
The Bregman sweepstakes finally ended on Wednesday when the longtime Houston Astros star agreed to a three-year, $120 million deal with the Boston Red Sox, giving the team a much-needed power boost from the right side of the plate and player who’s had historic success at Fenway Park.
In other AL East news, first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. revealed on Tuesday that he and the Toronto Blue Jays were unable to agree on a contract extension by his Monday night deadline, meaning that the four-time All-Star will hit free agency next winter. When asked by reporters if the two sides were close to an agreement, Guerrero Jr. replied “no,” though according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the 2022 Gold Glove Award winner said that he still wants to be a Blue Jay for his entire career.
Passan added in a report that Guerrero Jr. had set a 9 p.m. deadline, but the last call from the team came at 10:30 p.m.
With the son of Hall of Famer and Montreal Expos legend Vladimir Guerrero nine months away from going on the market, multiple insiders listed both the Red Sox and Mets as top candidates to land “Vladito’s” services for next season.
Jon Heyman of the New York Post posted on social media Tuesday morning that the “(very) early favorites” were, in order, Boston, the Mets (assuming first baseman Pete Alonso opts out of his contract next winter) and the New York Yankees.
Insider and former MLB general manager Jim Bowden, meanwhile, claimed that Soto’s contract with the Mets “changed everything” in Guerrero Jr.’s negotiations and essentially gave he and Toronto “no chance of getting a deal before he reaches free agency.”
“As he heads to free agency the Yankees, Red Sox & Mets could all be in play with the Blue Jays for the games next big free agent bidding battle,” Bowden added.
Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith wrote on Monday that any extension for Guerrero Jr. would’ve been “the biggest contract in Blue Jays franchise history, and one of the biggest in MLB history.”
Per Passan’s report, however, the 2023 Home Run Derby champion said that Soto’s signing in Queens had “nothing to do with (his) decision at all.”
“Even before that, I knew my value. I knew my number,” Guerrero Jr. said.
The Blue Jays “could explore a trade” for their slugger and likely warrant “one of the biggest returns in recent memory,” but Passan added that according to his sources, the team is “more inclined to start the season with Guerrero in their lineup and reassess the possibility of a trade as the July deadline approaches.”
Like Heyman and Bowden, Nicholson-Smith mentioned the Red Sox and Mets as likely contenders to land Guerrero Jr. next offseason.
How Could Guerrero Jr. Fit Into Red Sox Future?
With Spring Training having just begun, and Red Sox franchise cornerstone Rafael Devers defiantly saying he was still the team’s third baseman, it’s not exactly clear what the Red Sox plans are at the hot corner.
Manager Alex Cora has said all winter that Devers is, indeed, still the team’s starter at third base, meaning that Bregman would likely shift to second base. If “Raffy’s” much-criticized defense continues or an injury occurs, things could change.
Bregman could still be the primary third baseman (where he won his first career Gold Glove last season) in Beantown in 2025 and Devers may be the designated hitter. How Guerrero’s name could enter the picture though, is if the organization doesn’t sign first baseman Triston Casas to a contract extension.
If the slugging 2018 first-round pick isn’t in the Red Sox future, that could lead to a spot for Guerrero Jr. with one of the Blue Jays’ biggest rivals.
The Toronto superstar is just 10 months older than Casas yet is already in the early stages of a possible Hall-of-Fame career.
Casas didn’t make his big-league debut until Sept 2022, and after a 24-home run, 65 RBI season in 2023 that had him finish third in the AL Rookie of the Year voting, injuries held him back in 2024. The Miami native finished last season with 13 home runs, 32 RBI and a meager .241/.337/.462 slash line across 212 at-bats covering 63 games.
Where Would Guerrero Jr. Fit With Mets, Yankees?
As Passan noted in his report, both New York teams could be “without long-term first-base solutions” following this season.
The Mets re-signed Alonso to a two-year contract this winter, though he has an opt-out clause following the 2025 campaign. The Yankees inked seven-time All-Star and 2022 NL MVP first baseman Paul Goldschmidt to a one-year deal in late December.
Even if “Polar Bear Pete” departs the Amazin’s after this season, the possible trio of Guerrero Jr., Soto and shortstop Francisco Lindor in the middle of New York’s lineup would conceivably keep the offense near the top of the league.
Guerrero Jr. has had plenty of noteworthy words about potentially heading to the Bronx in the future, meanwhile, saying during the 2022 offseason that he likes to “kill the Yankees” and that he would “never sign with the Yankees, not even (when he’s dead.)” Then in April 2023 he added that his opposition to putting on the pinstripes was a “personal thing” and he will “never change that.”
When Guerrero Jr.’s name was floated in trade rumors last summer, however, his tone changed slightly.
“Sometimes one says things. It is not that I am trying to take back what I said about the Yankees. But this is a business. I sat down and spoke with my dad and my family, and this is a business. And I said I would never again talk about this topic and lots of people have asked me about it,” he said.
3 Teams Named ‘Early Favorites’ to Sign Blue Jays All-Star After Juan Soto Contract ‘Changed Everything’: Report