What is Ross Atkins waiting for?
Now that Vladimir Guerrero Jr has drawn a line in the sand with his latest contract expectations, and in case you've been living under a rock the last few days, Guerrero has made it clear that he will not negotiate an extension after day one of spring training.
In an interview with Vladdy via Abrienda Sports Guerrero has also stated the he wasn't happy with the latest offer and gave Ross Atkins a number that he would put pen to paper in a long term deal.
In previous articles I've written on the subject, I speculated that the lack of movement on Guerreros extension and a gamble on Bichette's future in a walk year, would probably scare away any free agent looking to sign long term.
Well now that Vladimir Guerrero Jr seems unhappy with the contract negotiations, and the Toronto Blue Jays as a club in whole, maybe he his looking at this from another angle.
Perhaps Guerrero has lost faith in his general manager for other reasons not related to his extension.
In his latest interview Guerrero mentioned that he wasn't happy being moved from the hot corner to first base, also Ross Atkins has done very little to improve his team since 2021.
The Blue Jays went all in on Ohtani and Soto in consecutive years and struck out both times.
Atkins has not done anything to protect Guerrero in the lineup since his runner up MVP year in 2021, which has directly effected his numbers leading up till now.
Speculatively speaking maybe best moves right now would be to sign Teoscar Hernandez and Anthony Santander or Alex Bregman and Hernandez, or Hernandez and Corbin Burnes, or Santander and Burnes.
Either the Guerrero extension comes first to attract other free agents of significance or you overpay to sign them and pay a premium to prove to Vladdy that you are serious about winning.
Getting Guerrero's extension done before the spring training deadline is the obvious priority, however it may take more than that to convince this fanbase and Guerrero for that matter that the Blue Jays are committed to getting out of the AL East cellar.
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 24 | 359 ANSWERS What is Ross Atkins waiting for? Is Ross Atkins fit to deal with notable free agents coming to Toronto and or the Vladimir Guerrero Jr extension? | ||
| Yes | 30 | 8.4 % |
| No | 202 | 56.3 % |
| Too early to tell | 29 | 8.1 % |
| Fire Ross Atkins before its too late! | 98 | 27.3 % |
| List of polls | ||
