The Toronto Blue Jays announced a decision on Vladimir Guerrero Jr. before the second game of a three-game series against the Baltimore Orioles.
Toronto is coming off a 7-4 loss in the series opener. In the loss, Guerrero was loudly booed after a strikeout, and he was picked off at first base in the first inning.
The Blue Jays are 72-74 and 2 games back of the final Wild Card spot.
Toronto Blue Jays Announce Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Decision
Guerrero has struggled to produce much offense this season, but he continues to hit at the top of the order.
Guerrero has been hitting second or third despite his struggles. After Blue Jays fans loudly booed him on Friday, there was some thought that he could get a day off or be dropped in the order. Yet, that won’t be the case as he’s once again playing first base and hitting third.
The Blue Jays lineup on Saturday is as follows:
- B. Bateman CF
- G. Springer DH
- V. Guerrero Jr. 1B
- A. Kirk C
- N. Lukes RF
- K. Okamoto 3B
- J. Smith 2B
- A. Giménez SS
- R. Martin Jr. LF
Spencer Miles starts as an opener for Toronto, with Spencer Arrighetti likely pitching the bulk of the innings out of the bullpen.
Guerrero is hitting .259 with 8 home runs and 54 RBIs and has yet to hit a home run at the Rogers Centre this season. The lack of power is an issue as Guerrero is in the first year of a 14-year, $500 million deal and struggling mightily.
Guerrero Booed During Loss
As Toronto’s playoff hopes are starting to fade, Blue Jays fans are starting to turn on Guerrero, who is the face of the franchise.
Guerrero was picked off at first base, and had he not been, the bases would have been loaded as Alejandro Kirk walked the next pitch. He also had no reason to be that far off the base as George Springer was on second base, so he wasn’t going anywhere.
“[First-base coach] Mark Budzinski was on it, kind of yelling. He didn’t hear him,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. “He just got out too far. Baserunning plays like that can shift momentum a little bit. It could have been a little bit different after Kirk walks. He got out too far and they made a play.”
Guerrero was getting booed throughout the game, but did get cheered while he was on the plate, as Schneider knows getting booed isn’t easy.
“Mentally, you have to be pretty strong and pretty locked into what you’re doing,” Schneider said. “And I thought he did a good job of navigating that. … “It’s tough to hear (boos) and then to hear 40,000 chanting your name. When you have a process that you can stick to no matter what the outcome is, I think that’s important. It’s something he’s working on, and something I thought he handled pretty well tonight, but he gets a lot of fan reaction, good and bad, and that comes with being him.”
The Blue Jays will look to even up the series on Saturday.
Toronto Blue Jays Announce Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Decision After Getting Booed