Arbitration deadline today at 1 PM ET: Seven Blue Jays including Vladimir Guerrero Jr are eligible.
The Toronto Blue Jays and their seven eligible players have until 1pm ET today to avoid arbitration. If not they must exchange filing numbers. According to Sportsnet's Ben Nicholson-Smith, Blue Jays eligible players are Daulton Varsho, Alejandro Kirk, Alek Manoah, Zach Pop, Ernie Clement, Nick Sandlin and Vladimir Guerrero Jr
Anyone who doesn't sign by 1 p.m. ET today must exchange figures with their team, and a panel of three independent arbitrators will later choose the submitted salary that they deem more appropriate, based on player performance and past precedent (there's no in between; baseball arbitrators can't choose a midpoint).
Although this process was once highly traditional, driven by stats like pitcher wins and RBI, arbitration has evolved considerably in recent years with stats like WAR (wins above replacement) now figuring in prominently.
Like all arbitration-eligible players, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has until 1 p.m. ET on today to avoid arbitration with his team.
A year ago, Ross Atkins was not aligned with Guerrero Jr, who won his arbitration case and earned a salary of $19.9 million, instead of the $18.05 million offered by the club.
Speaking to the media after that decision, Guerrero Jr. said he wasn't upset that he had to go to a hearing:
By 1 PM ET today it'll be clear whether the Toronto Blue Jays have avoided a second consecutive arbitration hearing with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. or whether the two sides are again unable to agree on how much he should get paid.
Hopefully the two sides agree to a 2025 salary ahead of today's deadline.
Such a deal would indicate that the sides are communicating well, if nothing else.
However you read into today's results and whatever happens with arbitration, the bigger question of Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s long-term future still remains unanswered.
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