Blue Jays’ Vladimir Guerrero Jr. softens stance on Yankees as trade rumors swirl

Gary Phillips, New York Daily News
·2-min read

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. once said he would “never” sign with the New York Yankees.

“Not even dead,” he added in 2022. But with trade rumors now swirling and Guerrero alive and well, the Toronto Blue Jays first baseman has changed his tune on the Bombers.

On Monday, the slugger was asked if he would reconsider his past comments if the Yankees tried to trade for him. While such a scenario faces an uphill battle with the Yankees and Jays sharing a division, Guerrero said he’s open to the possibility of playing in pinstripes.

“Sometimes one says things. It is not that I am trying to take back what I said about the Yankees,” Guerrero told Virus Deportivo. “But this is a business. I sat down and spoke with my dad [Vladimir Guerrero Sr.] and my family, and this is a business. And I said I would never again talk about this topic and lots of people have asked me about it.

“If a team picks me or if they do something, it’s because they need it, obviously, and I’ll be happy to help any team. But right now, I’m just focused on helping my team try to get out of this bad streak.”

Last season, Guerrero doubled down on his initial resistance to the Yankees, saying, “I will never change that.” He added that his feelings stemmed from family matters.

While Guerrero didn’t cite this as the reason, late Yankees owner George Steinbrenner preferred and signed Gary Sheffield over his father prior to the 2004 season. Guerrero Sr. ended up signing with the Angels.

If the Yankees were able to pry Vladito from the last-place Blue Jays — that’s a big if — he would seriously improve their corner infield situation. Ben Rice has been playing well at first base since his recent promotion, and J.D. Davis was just acquired from the Oakland A’s to spend some time there. The struggling DJ LeMahieu can also play first.

None of them can do what Guerrero does at the plate. The 25-year-old — who won’t be a free agent until 2026 — was hitting .286/.368/.429 with 10 home runs, 36 RBI and a 129 OPS+ as of Tuesday morning following a slow start to his season.

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