Maple Leafs’ Matthews buries tying goal while falling
Watch as Auston Matthews makes scoring look easy by burying his 14th goal of the season and ties the game while falling.
The Toronto Blue Jays and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. won’t be headed to arbitration for a second straight year.
Toronto and its star first baseman agreed to terms on a one-year, $28.5 million deal ahead of Thursday’s filing deadline, according to Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi.
In a set of projected arbitration salaries released annually by MLB Trade Rumors in October, the 25-year-old Guerrero was tabbed to have the highest salary of all arbitration-eligible players this off-season at $29.6 million.
The record for single-season arbitration earnings has been set in each of the past two off-seasons, with Juan Soto and Shohei Ohtani settling with the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Angels at over $30 million, respectively.
Last winter, Guerrero and the Blue Jays were unable to settle on terms, forcing the two sides to an arbitration hearing in February. The four-time All-Star ended up winning the case for a $19.9 million salary for 2023, beating Toronto, who had filed at $18.05 million.
Guerrero is coming off a much stronger season this year, however. He earned another All-Star nod, won his second Silver Slugger and was named to the All-MLB first team by slashing .323/.396/.544 with 30 home runs and 103 RBIs over 159 games for the Blue Jays.
His $8.6 million raise from 2024 is larger than the bump Juan Soto got when signing his arbitration-record $31 million deal last off-season, per Davidi.
Following his hearing last spring, Guerrero told reporters there were “no hard feelings” about the Blue Jays taking him through the entire arbitration process.
While it can be difficult for some players to hear why their team doesn’t feel they’re worth the requested salary, Guerrero said he’s aware of how the parties had to approach the proceedings.
“I understand it’s part of the process for both sides,” Guerrero said. “In the end, you turn the page and it’s all good.”
Guerrero coming to terms ahead of the deadline means that the Blue Jays were able to reach an agreement with all of their arbitration-eligible players.
— With files from The Canadian Press