5 trade candidates for Vladimir Guerrero Jr. amid Blue Jays 'retool' reports
It was barely six months ago the Toronto Blue Jays were on the cusp of becoming a powerhouse in Major League Baseball amid rumors Shohei Ohtani was signing in Canada.
Things have drastically changed since then.
For starters, Ohtani made the obvious choice to sign the Los Angeles Dodgers, and up in Toronto things have fallen apart. The Blue Jays (21-26) are last in the American League East — 10.5 games back of the first place Yankees and 3.5 back of the Wild Card-leading Orioles as of May 22.
Toronto’s negative-45 run differential is the fifth-worst in MLB behind only tanking teams like the Chicago White Sox (-100), Miami Marlins (-83), Colorado Rockies (-74) and Oakland Athletics (-59). Naturally, the trade rumors have already begun with whispers the Blue Jays might be willing to move their two biggest stars, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette, to facilitate a quick rebuild.
“I don’t think they’re opposed to it,” [an AL] executive said. “They’ve talked to teams about it. The asks were ridiculous, but I think they’re going to try to retool a lot, and using those guys to get pieces may be the way to do it.”
Both Bichette and Guerrero are slated to become free agents after the 2025 season, so any acquiring team would have them for the rest of this year and one more full season.
Of course the asking price is ridiculous now, but maybe some teams don’t balk at a deal as we get closer to the All-Star break and trade deadline. Here’s a look at which could be most likely to swing a deal for Vlad or Bo ranked by hypothetical odds.