The MLB hot stove is beginning to heat up. This is around the time when rumors start flying regarding potential player movement via trades or free agency and teams act on those rumors in order to make their team better to make a run at the World Series. Sometimes, however, some rumors turn out to be just that: rumors. That might be the case with the smoke hovering around the Toronto Blue Jays and their star first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who is currently the subject of trade rumors.
The Blue Jays have been taking calls on Guerrero Jr., according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Star shortstop Bo Bichette's name has also been thrown around in trade talks, but Rosenthal shut down the notion that a trade of either player is likely. He cited that the Blue Jays are under pressure to win and may look to double down by pursuing Shohei Ohtani rather than ship one of the stars already on their roster.
But, that doesn't mean that a trade can't happen. Anything is possible. If the Blue Jays get a Vladimir Guerrero Jr. trade offer that they can't refuse and helps their team, they'd have to take it, right?
The question is: Which teams would make such an offer for Guerrero Jr.?
Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners came oh so close to the postseason in 2023. They were the odd man out of the three-headed race for the AL West crown between them, the Houston Astros, and the eventual World Series Champion Texas Rangers. They ultimately missed out on the final Wild Card spot by one game to… Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s Blue Jays.
Surely, the Blue Jays would prefer to send him to the National League, but the Seattle Mariners really could use a bat like Guerrero Jr.'s at first base.
Seattle ranked 22nd as a team in batting average last season at .242. The Mariners did fare better at getting on base; they ranked 15th in that stat in 2023 with a .321 mark. They were also 16th in slugging (.413) and 16th in OPS (.734). The Mariners did have a decent amount of pop, however. They were 11th in the majors in home runs with 210 of them. Hitting for power was not an issue for the Mariners, but hitting for consistency was.
Fortunately for Seattle, if they were able to pull off a trade for Guerrero Jr., he can do both.
Guerrero has a career batting average of .279. Last season, he was a bit below that mark at .264, but that is still well above what the Mariners hit for as a team last season. He was also well above the Mariners' marks as a team in on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and OPS. Among players with at least 150 at-bats last season, only Julio Rodriguez and JP Crawford posted a better batting average than Guerrero Jr.
Guerrero Jr. would be a big help to the Mariners' lineup. He'd also be a big upgrade over Ty France at first base. France is a solid player; his .250/.337/.366/.703 hitting lines are very solid. But they're not exactly otherworldly either. Guerrero Jr.'s worst season is better than that. Putting him in a lineup with Rodriguez and Crawford would be an absolute nightmare for pitchers to deal with. It's also exactly why the Mariners should pursue him in a potential trade.
New York Yankees
If the Toronto Blue Jays would have any qualms about trading Guerrero Jr. to a team in the AL, they definitely would have to think about any trade that would send him within their own division. That alone makes a Blue Jays Vladimir Guerrero Jr. trade with the New York Yankees seem farfetched, but there may not be a team in the majors that needs a reliable bat more than the Yankees. They simply didn't have very many a year ago.
Last season, the Yankees ranked 29th in the majors in batting average at .227. In on-base percentage (.304), the Yankees were 27th in the league. In slugging percentage (.397), the Yankees did rise up to 22nd in the majors, but that is still below average. The Yankees also ranked 24th in OPS (.701).
The Yankees were bad in just about any team statistic one could find, but that also carries over to the hitters' individual stats. Gleyber Torres and Aaron Judge were the only players on the Yankees last season to have played at least 50 games and posted a batting average over .250. Those two, along with Giancarlo Stanton (who hit .191 last season) and Anthony Volpe (who hit .209) were the only Yankees to hit at least 20 home runs last season. They just didn't have many players to consistently get on base and manufacture runs, especially while Judge was out.
The Yankees do already have Anthony Rizzo to handle first base, but that should not stop them from going after Guerrero Jr. They need a big bat to help out Judge, and Guerrero Jr. is exactly that.
Follow Us
Subscribe