DUNEDIN — One big question hung in the warm, humid Florida air Thursday as the Toronto Blue Jays held their first official workout at spring training.
Will the team be able to sign Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to a long-term extension before his deadline for contract talks arrives early next week?
"We've worked extremely hard on keeping Vlad here for a long time," Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins said. "That desire is strong and we will continue to do that."
Guerrero has set a negotiating deadline for Tuesday — the first day of full-squad workouts — before he puts his future plans to the back burner until the end of the season.
The 25-year-old first baseman is entering the final year of his contract and can become a free agent in the fall. Both sides have expressed a desire to work out an extension, but it appears talks may go down to the wire.
"We all want Vlad to be here," said Blue Jays manager John Schneider. "Ross has said that, I've said that, I think that we'll just keep working toward that and hopefully it happens."
It was the hot talking point at the player development complex as pitchers and catchers reported for workouts and early training sessions. Many position players were also already on site ahead of their reporting deadline.
The Blue Jays had to settle for being finalists in their pursuit of superstar slugger Juan Soto (who signed with the New York Mets) and Japanese pitching sensation Roki Sasaki (who signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers) this off-season.
However, Canada's lone big-league team did land a number of free agents, including veteran slugger Anthony Santander, right-hander Max Scherzer and reliever Jeff Hoffman.
The Blue Jays also signed reliever Yimi Garcia and acquired second baseman Andrés Giménez and reliever Nick Sandlin via trade. After reaching the wild-card round in three of four years, Toronto fell to last place in the American League East in 2024 with a 74-88 record.
"I think on paper we're better," Schneider said. "I think there's a lot of guys that want to put last year behind us and have a little bit of a chip on their shoulder too."
The addition of Scherzer, an eventual first-ballot Hall of Famer, provides some depth to a rotation anchored by Kevin Gausman, Jose Berrios and Chris Bassitt.
Hoffman will likely take on the closer's role after Jordan Romano's departure and Santander provides some needed thump in the heart of the batting order, which may see some shuffling depending on how things go this spring.
Scherzer drew a crowd during the morning throwing session and his trademark intensity was already on point.
"His competitiveness and his experience is going to be great for an already veteran staff," Schneider said. "It's going to be great for (pitchers) like Bowden (Francis) and for Alek (Manoah), guys like Jake Bloss. It's just awesome to add him."
With a healthy Bo Bichette — who's also in a contract year — looking to bounce back from a down year in 2024, there is optimism that the team can turn things around.
But the uncertainty about Guerrero's future will likely linger over the coming days.
An extension would ease anxiety about this team's long-term plans and give everyone around the club some spring in their step. If he decides to play out the year and try his hand at free agency, he'll be motivated to have another big season.
Either way, it's shaping up to be an interesting spring and 2025 campaign.
"I think it's going to be good," Berrios said. "Hopefully (he's) going to get a deal done soon."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 13, 2025.
Gregory Strong, The Canadian Press