The Toronto Blue Jays are still trying to get an extension done with slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Toronto has made another offer to the pending free agent, ESPN's Buster Olney reported Thursday ahead of Opening Day.
Guerrero had set Feb. 18 — the day of Toronto's first full-squad workout at spring training — as his deadline to sign a contract extension.
Although his deadline passed without an agreement, Guerrero told reporters that day he would be open to reviving the negotiations with the Blue Jays if there was a "realistic offer presented."
The 26-year-old is looking for a new contract of $500 million in present value before deferrals, according to The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal and the New York Post's Jon Heyman.
It has since been reported by Sportsnet, The Athletic and The New York Post that the gap in talks was around $50 million as the Blue Jays' offer included deferrals that would have reduced the contract to between $400 million to $450 million in present-day value.
A contract of $500 million present-day value would be the second-largest contract in MLB history, ahead of Shohei Ohtani’s deferred $700-million deal, which carries a present value of $460.8 million, Rosenthal said.
It would be behind only the 15-year, $765-million contract Juan Soto signed with the New York Mets earlier in the off-season after finishing third in AL MVP voting and helping the New York Yankees return to the World Series.
Guerrero said in Spanish while speaking with ESPN's Enrique Rojas and Ernesto Jerez that his proposal was the same number of years as Soto's contract but didn't reach $600 million.
"I know the business," Guerrero said. "I lowered the salary demands a bit, but I also lowered the number of years. … I'm looking for 14 (years). I would like 14, 15, even 20 if they give them to me, but doing it the right way."
Guerrero is coming off an excellent season of his own. He batted .323 with 30 home runs, 103 RBIs and a .940 OPS, providing the Blue Jays some much-needed offensive production in a disappointing season.
Even though he enters the season with his future up in the air, Guerrero continues to insist that his focus remains on the field.
"There was an exchange (of salary figures). The meetings lasted until the last day of the deadline, but (the Blue Jays and Guerrero's agents) couldn't reach an agreement on the numbers," he added in his interview with ESPN. "But as I've always said, just because we couldn't reach an agreement, I'm not going to change the way I work. I have to keep working."
Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro is optimistic the team will be able to get a deal done.
"I think we're going to sign him. I think we're going to extend him," Shapiro said last Thursday. "The reason I feel that way is because we have such a clear alignment on the desired outcome."
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