The Toronto Blue Jays are less than a year removed from reaching the World Series, where they lost in heartbreaking fashion to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
While they’re now in the middle of a Wild Card race in the American League, they have simply not lived up to expectations in 2026, and at the forefront of that is superstar Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
While Guerrero Jr. was named to his sixth consecutive All-Star team, he’s hit just eight home runs this season across 132 games and 497 at-bats.
In comparison to past seasons, he hit 23 or more in each of the last five seasons, including an MLB-leading 48 back in 2021.
Former Blue Jays Player Makes Statement on Guerrero Jr.
On Thursday, seven-year Blue Jays player and 13-year MLB pro Kevin Pillar appeared on Foul Territory and criticized Guerrero Jr.’s 2026 season despite the superstar signing a massive 14-year, $500 million deal in April 2025.
“When you’re a player who has had a ton of success… we’re talking about $500 million worth of success when things aren’t going well it’s probably not easy to make those changes [to fix his hitting issues]. So I think its probably very difficult for him to implement changes. But I think if the Blue Jays had the answers, I think we would’ve seen it by now,” Pillar said.
“It’s crazy to me that he’s at single digit home runs at this point of the year and that he hasn’t hit a home run at home is pretty wild. There is much worse hitters in baseball at this point in the season that probably have hit more home runs and that have definitely hit a home run in their home stadium.
“This doesn’t look like a $500 million guy to me. This looks like a Kevin Pillar type of season with a slightly higher on base percentage.”
“If the Blue Jays had the answers, I think we would have seen it by now.”
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. just doesn’t look like a $500M hitter this year, says @KPILLAR4. pic.twitter.com/LVlRWKFdZ1
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) September 10, 2026
Guerrero Jr.’s 2026 Season
With Toronto sitting at 73-74 overall and just 15 regular-season games remaining, Guerrero Jr. is batting .260 with a .352 slugging percentage and a .682 OPS.
The Blue Jays are 1.0 game back of a Wild Card spot, trailing the Cleveland Guardians, and they’ll begin a series with the Baltimore Orioles on Friday at home.
Former 7-Year Toronto Blue Jays Player Makes Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Statement