Brother of Blue Jays star Guerrero Jr. lands MLB contract
While Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is still awaiting his next deal with the Toronto Blue Jays, one of his brothers has signed an MLB contract.
But it doesn’t appear that they’ll be playing on the same team anytime soon.
As per Baseball America, the New York Mets have signed 16-year-old Vladi Miguel Guerrero to an international free-agent contract.
. @Mets sign Dominican outfielder Vladi Miguel Guerrero
yes … that Guerrero đź‘€
He's the son of Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero Sr.https://t.co/MfpaHRk0M9 pic.twitter.com/iT4krj1zX6
— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) January 15, 2024
He is the third one of Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero Sr.’s nine sons to have signed an MLB deal, with Pablo Guerrero signing with the Texas Rangers last January.
Unlike other pro sports in North America that typically only allow players to sign contracts after age 18, the MLB has a long-standing history of signing free agents from Central America in their mid-teenage years.
Guerrero Jr. himself originally signed with the Blue Jays way back in 2015 as a 16-year-old, making his MLB debut four years later in 2019.
And things have gone pretty well for Guerrero Jr. in his time in Toronto: he has a batting average of .279 with 706 hits, 130 home runs, 404 RBIs, and 377 runs scored in 660 games for the Blue Jays in his career across five seasons.
His pinnacle season came in 2021 when he finished second in American League MVP voting after cranking out 47 home runs in his third year in the majors. But with a few down seasons in 2022 and 2023, there are questions still to be answered about what exactly Guerrero Jr.’s future will look like in the MLB.
Unable to settle on a contract with the Jays so far in the offseason, Guerrero Jr. is reportedly nearly $2 million apart in contract asks for next year, with the team filing at $18.05 million to his $19.9 million ask.
In any case, if Vladi Miguel is fortunate enough to come anywhere close to his older brother’s success, it’ll be a big win for the Guerrero family.
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