Guerrero Jr., Berrios among recipients for Blue Jays end of year awards

TORONTO — Vladimir Guerrero Jr. earned Blue Jays player of the year honours for the third time in four seasons in voting by the Toronto chapter of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America announced Tuesday.

Jose Berrios was voted pitcher of the year, Bowden Francis claimed most improved honours, Spencer Horwitz was chosen rookie of the year and Danny Jansen won the John Cerutti Award, which goes to someone associated with the day-to-day workings of Blue Jays baseball who displays the goodwill, co-operation and character exemplified by the late lefty.

Guerrero, a four-time all-star, batted .323/.396/.544 with 30 homers and 103 RBIs and was a unanimous pick on 22 ballots cast, adding to his victories in 2021 and 2022. He finished well ahead of runner-up Daulton Varsho, the Gold Glove-winning outfielder who hit 18 homers and produced 3.3 WAR, as calculated by FanGraphs.

Berrios logged a team-high 192.1 innings over 32 starts while posting a 3.60 ERA to win Blue Jays pitcher of the year honours for the first time since joining the club. He received 19 first-place votes, finishing well ahead of runner-up Kevin Gausman.

Francis, who carried two no-hitters into the ninth inning in the span of four starts and posted a 3.30 ERA over 103.2 innings, was the decisive choice as most improved player with 20 first-place votes. Guerrero finished second, with Horwitz third.

Horwitz was the clear pick as rookie of the year with 21 first-place votes after batting .265/.357/.433 with 12 homers and 40 RBIs in 97 games following a June call-up. Yariel Rodriguez, who logged 86.2 innings over 21 starts after not pitching last season, finished second.

Jansen, a 16^th-round pick in 2013, played 501 games over parts of seven seasons with the Blue Jays before being dealt to Boston during their July deadline sell-off. While batting .212/.303/.369 with 71 homers and 214 RBIs, he forged a deep connection with the franchise across multiple levels.