Vlad Guerrero Jr. Downplays $500M Blue Jays Contract Rumors, 'I Don't Know Anything'

Toronto Blue Jays star Vladimir Guerrero Jr. says he doesn't "know anything" about being reportedly close to signing an extension worth more than $500 million.

"Well, until now, I don't know anything," Guerrero said Friday in Spanish (as translated by ESPN's Jorge Castillo). "I've always tried to talk to my agent and I've always left that to my agent.

"I focus on playing. Until now, I don't know what you're talking about."

MLB reporter Mike Rodriguez said earlier Friday that Guerrero and the Blue Jays were "very close to closing" on a $500 million-plus deal.

Rodriguez's report came in the middle of the Blue Jays' 5-0 loss to the New York Mets in Queens.

"Like I said before, I'm playing right now. I'm concentrating on the games, on my teammates," Guerrero said via his translator after the game (h/t SNY). "I'm leaving everything to my agent, so I haven't talked to them. So I don't know anything at this point."

Guerrero initially set a Feb. 18 deadline for extension negotiations ahead of his contract year.

No agreement was reached before spring training. Guerrero told ESPN's Enrique Rojas and Ernesto Jerez on March 6 the Blue Jays had offered him less than $600 million, and ESPN's Buster Olney reported club and player had been "about $50 million apart."

Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro told reporters on March 20 he believed his club would be able to extend Guerrero and expressed hope the star would "end his career in a Blue Jays uniform and be a true legacy player for the Toronto Blue Jays."

Olney then reported on March 27 the Blue Jays had made a new offer to Guerrero "in the past 24 hours."

ESPN reported at the time that "a gap still remains between the two sides, and it's unclear whether there will be more talks in the immediate future to reach a deal."

Guerrero, who turned 26 in March, finished the 2024 campaign with a career-high batting average of .323. The Blue Jays risk his price climbing even higher if he can put together a fifth straight All-Star campaign before testing free agency next winter.