The Toronto Blue Jays signed Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to a 14-year, $500 million contract extension on Sunday night, preventing the expected top free agent in the 2025 class from ever reaching the market. The Blue Jays have had little success convincing MLB’s best and brightest stars to sign in Toronto, so the least they could do was keep their own. Without Guerrero Jr. as the centerpiece of the 2025 free-agent market, this puts more focus on top-tier hitters like Kyle Schwarber, Kyle Tucker, and Marcell Ozuna.
Guerrero Jr.’s massive extension will undoubtedly have an impact across baseball. Before Guerrero Jr.’s $500 million deal, there were only two contracts that were that lucrative. Shohei Ohtani signed a 10-year, $700 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Juan Soto signed a 15-year, $765 million deal with the New York Mets. Unlike Ohtani’s contract, which has deferrals, Guerrero Jr.’s contract is straight-up, meaning the Blue Jays will pay him in full across 14 seasons.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Deal May Impact Marcell Ozuna and Braves
What Guerrero Jr.’s extension means for Ozuna and Braves
Guerrero Jr.’s deal will certainly raise a lot of eyebrows of upcoming free agents, including Marcell Ozuna. The Atlanta Braves star DH has hit 39 and 40 home runs in back-to-back seasons, also recording 100+ RBIs each season. Ozuna’s talent at the plate has never been questioned, but he does come with off-field concerns and doesn’t contribute defensively.
Ozuna was the steadying force in an underwhelming and injury-plagued Atlanta Braves offense last season. The veteran slugger has had some boom or bust tendencies in the past but has been one of the best hitters in baseball over the past two seasons.
Ozuna is unlikely to command a contract similar to Guerrero Jr.’s, being a 34-year-old DH, but Guerrero Jr.’s deal will raise the asking price for many excellent hitters in the off-season. That leaves Braves General Manager Alex Anthopoulos with a tough decision to make.
Marcell Ozuna focused on 2025 and being best teammate possible
Ozuna has said his full attention was on the 2025 season. The veteran slugger has become an important clubhouse leader in Atlanta and he’s someone other hitters can turn to when they’re in a slump. While he doesn’t have any numerical goals, Ozuna wants to remain healthy and “give my best to my teammates.”
Ozuna said he hopes to remain with the Braves beyond 2025, but also recognizes that business is business. The “Big Bear” noted that some players tend to put pressure on themselves when entering the final year of their contract. However, Ozuna claims he’s not thinking about that and instead is focused on having fun playing the game.
It’s the right mentality to have, and one that could spur another powerful year at the plate. Should that happen the Braves will need to evaluate if they prefer the offensive production from Ozuna in the DH spot or the flexibility they could gain in 2026 without Ozuna on the team. With questions about Ronald Acuña’s health, and two potential starting level catchers in Sean Murphy and Drake Baldwin, opening the DH spot in 2026 could prove beneficial to Atlanta. However, Ozuna has shown no signs of slowing down and losing a powerful bat wouldn’t be an easy thing to replace.
Can the Braves afford to sign Marcell Ozuna to new deal
The market for top-tier power hitters will be slim and that will undoubtedly work in Ozuna’s favor. Anthopoulos is not the type of General Manager to get into a bidding war for a player as unpredictable as Ozuna, who is a defensive liability and has a domestic violence charge to his name.
Ozuna is currently playing on a $16 million club option in 2025 and will demand close to double that at the start of the MLB free agency, assuming he can duplicate his past two seasons. If Ozuna would be willing to take a short-term deal, then perhaps Anthopoulos and the Braves will bite. However, the 34-year-old is not getting any younger and there is no guarantee that the Braves would be willing to pay what Ozuna feels he deserves.
Perhaps Blue Jays General Manager Ross Atkins raised the price tag beyond Atlanta’s means, potentially making it an easy decision for Braves management this coming winter, albeit an unpopular one with the Braves fanbase.
Main Image: © Brett Davis-Imagn Images
