Toronto Blue Jays: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Still in AAA even with the Extra Year of Control

As of Friday, April 12, the Toronto Blue Jays officially gained an extra 7th year of control on super prospect Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Now that a couple days has passed, why is Junior not on the major league roster?

It was a sunny Spring day in downtown Toronto on April 13, 2019. The birds have returned North, the pedestrians and taxi drivers are yelling at each other, and the service time issues surrounding the promotion of prospect Vladimir Guerrero Jr. are officially over.

Since the start of spring training, there has been a significant amount of questions regarding when the #1 prospect in all of baseball will make his major league debut with the Toronto Blue Jays. Would he break opening day with the team? Would the Jays keep him down in the minor leagues for more ‘preparation’?

Whatever decision the team was going to make, it would most certainly come with its own list of pros and cons.

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It is no secret that the Blue Jays wanted that extra year of control over their star prospect. The game of baseball has taken a turn over the years and there is more emphasis on young prospects with control over veterans signing free agent contracts (unless you have talent like Bryce Harper or Manny Machado).

It’s the reason why players like Nolan Arenado are signing long term deals with their respective teams instead of testing the free agency waters. There is just so much risk associated with free agency, nobody wants to end up like Craig Kimbrel or Dallas Keuchel without a contract.

Now the free agency scenario can obviously be debated for days, but we are getting away from the main topic.

Now that service time is no longer a concern, why is Vladimir Guerrero Jr. not a part of the major league roster?

The Toronto Blue Jays got lucky when Guerrero Jr. suffered an oblique injury midway through spring training. They now had the reason to say why their prospect had to stay in the minor league system for conditioning purposes, and the MLB union wouldn’t be able to complain about the service time issues. It was a major win for the organization, not so much for Vladimir obviously.

You would think that once the service time issue had been resolved and the extra year of control was official, the Blue Jays would pull the trigger and possibly bring him up in front of the home crowd against the Tampa Bay Rays. It would give him the star studded debut in front of the home crowd, who are currently not showing up to games during the rebuilding year.

Maybe the Blue Jays wanted to ease him into the major leagues on the road.

Starting Monday, the team will begin a week-long road trip against the Minnesota Twins and Oakland Athletics, with their next home game against the San Francisco Giants on April 23. This could possibly help get the third baseman’s feet wet at the major league level before being fed to the wolves at the Rogers Centre.

Toronto Blue Jays

It would also certainly help drive ticket sales back in Toronto if Vladdy began his career on the road. Everyone would know that his exact first game in the Rogers Centre would be on April 23, and I can imagine that this game would be packed to the retractable roof to see his first home game.

People who do not live in downtown Toronto would be able to plan a trip down to the stadium if we knew in advance when his first home game would be instead of a last second call-up announced the morning before the game.

The Toronto Blue Jays are off to a rough start this year at 5-10, but the rest of the AL East is off to the same kind of start. The Tampa Bay Rays lead the way with a 11-4 record, but every other team in the division is only at 5 or 6 wins.

Wins like this early in the season can make or break the wild card race, and with teams like the Red Sox and the Yankees scuffling out of the gate, anything could be possibly further down the season. Keeping a star prospect like Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the minor league system really doesn’t benefit anyone in the long run.

The Blue Jays are struggling to get hits and drive in runs, and one of the biggest bats in your system is currently suiting up for the Buffalo Bisons. The Jays rank third last in home runs, runs, and hits in the American League, and they only have three players hitting over .220 AVG, with Freddy Galvis being the only everyday player out of the three (Richard Urena just got sent down to AAA and the other is the backup catcher Luke Maile).

On the flip side, I can only imagine that a player of Guerrero Jr’s calibre is not enjoying his extended stay down in the minor leagues. Seeing prospects like Eloy Jimenez and Fernando Tatis Jr. starting the season in the big leagues and with long term contracts (Jimenez does, Tatis Jr. does not) can’t feel too good for the ego.

Junior and the Blue Jays have not reportedly discussed a long term contract as well, but this is less concerning as there is now 7 years to discuss this. That’s if Vladimir wants to play here for the long haul after the service time manipulation (looking at you Kris Bryant).

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. knows he is ready for the MLB, the Toronto Blue Jays know he is ready, the fans know he is ready, but yet he still suits up South of the border. The longer he sits in the minor leagues, the more the game of baseball misses a star prospect trying to showcase his talents against the best pitchers in the world.

This will most likely change over the next week or two, as general manager Ross Atkins stated that we will see Vladimir in a Blue Jays uniform in the near future.

Until then, you will find the Toronto Blue Jays fan at the bar down the road from the Rogers Centre.