The New York Yankees lost to the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday night 6–1, but things couldn’t have started out worse with a Vladimir Guerrero Jr. two-run blast in the first inning to put starting pitcher Domingo German in a tough spot. German ended up lasting until the 7th inning but gave up two homers, four earned runs, and five hits.
It is no secret that Guerrero Jr. is one of the best young players in the league at just 24 years old. He’s started the 2023 season red hot, hitting .346 with a .429 OBP, slapping four homers with 11 RBIs, and an 11% strikeout rate. He has superstar written all over him, and the Yankees got a taste of that on Friday.
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The Yankees will never have a chance at landing Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s services:
Unfortunately, when Guerrero hits free agency in 2026, the Yankees can rule themselves out. For personal reasons, Guerrero stated in the past that he would never play for the Yankees, reiterating that fact after Friday’s win.
“It’s a personal thing. It goes back with my family,” Guerrero said through a club interpreter. “That’s my decision, and I will never change that.”
Guerrero did mention how exciting it is to play in Yankee Stadium and how it is every kid’s dream, but for whatever reason, there’s a bad taste in his mouth when it comes to performing for the Bronx Bombers and not against them.
“Since you’re a little kid, you dream to play at Yankee Stadium,” Guerrero said. “It’s always a stadium where you want to come, you want to perform, you want to hit. That’s my mentality all the time when I come here.”
Vladimir certainly brought that statement to life with his two-run homer on Friday, collecting two hits and two RBIs to boot. Ultimately, he would’ve been a phenomenal free-agent target Anthony Rizzo, but if the Blue Jays are smart, they won’t let him go anywhere for a very long time.