Rafael Devers contract: a starting point for Vladimir Guerrero Jr.?

The Red Sox have finally extended Rafael Devers’ contract on a long-term basis. It was made inevitable and the club acted accordingly.

In Toronto, we can therefore wonder what this means for Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

After all, Vladdy is also quite the ball player and one day he will get his fair share. And we can think that he is THE most indispensable player of the Blue Jays.

When we compare the numbers of the two guys, we realize that both have similar stats, but that Vlad is still a bit better.

And even though he plays in an “easier” position on the pitch, he is also younger than Devers.

The major difference between the two is that Vlad is three years away from being independent while Devers was only a year away from becoming free as air.

Devers got $331 million over 11 years. One final arb year plus $31.35 million per free agent year thru age 36.

Any Vlad Jr. deal would cover three arb years, not one. Let’s say $60 million or so for those three thru ’25. That’s the easy part.

— Ben Nicholson-Smith (@bnicholsonsmith) January 5, 2023

Ben Nicholson-Smith did the math: if Vladdy were to make around $60m by autonomy ($15, 20, and $25m could be projected to him from 2023 to 2025) and he signed an eight-year contract at the same salary as Rafael Devers (the Sox player receives $31.35 million per year after his year of arbitration), we are talking about $311 million over 11 years.

That said, it wouldn’t be the most appropriate offer since even if we add the $251 million over eight years to the $60 million in arbitration, that would mean that Vladdy wouldn’t be very old at the end of his contract. .

In fact, he would only be 34 at the end of his contract. In such a scenario, the Jays would buy him eight years of autonomy… whereas the Sox bought 10 years of autonomy from Devers.

It is therefore logical to believe that Vladdy, who could ask for more money per year than Devers, would be entitled to ask for one or two more years on his contract.

Vlad Jr. just 3 yrs from open market now. Complicated matters: Bo Bichette set to hit free agency the same yr.

Jays now flirting with CBT. Clearly will spend. But on both? If not, we who? Team doesn’t need to rush answers, but next 2 months are logical time to explore deals x2

— Ben Nicholson-Smith (@bnicholsonsmith) January 5, 2023

Instead of 11 years and $310 million, will 13 years and $370 million be his requirements? It is not illogical, he who is still very young.

Obviously, he could also wait until next winter or more before signing long-term. At the price the market is moving at, that might not be a bad idea…

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