Report: Guerrero to earn $19.9M after arbitration win

Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. beat his team in his arbitration hearing, a source told Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.

Guerrero will earn $19.9 million in 2024, a new record for a salary awarded by a hearing. The Blue Jays had countered at $18.05 million, a figure that would've given him that record even if he had lost.

Guerrero was the Blue Jays' only arbitration-eligible player who went to a hearing this offseason and their first since 2019. Toronto operates as a "file-and-trial" team, meaning they have a policy of ending negotiations with a player once the sides exchange numbers.

The sides had managed to avoid arbitration during each of the previous two seasons. Guerrero has one more year of eligibility remaining before reaching free agency.

The 24-year-old is coming off a down season in which he hit .264/.345/.444 with 26 home runs and 94 RBIs. Still, Guerrero earned his third straight All-Star berth and also won the Home Run Derby during All-Star week in Seattle.

Guerrero broke out as a star in 2021 when he led the majors in home runs and was the American League MVP runner-up. He's been unable to recreate that production in the two years that followed, though he added a Gold Glove to his trophy case in 2022.

Guerrero's win gives players a 6-2 lead in this year's slate of arbitration hearings thus far.