The Toronto Blue Jays are happy, it seems, to have Vladimir Guerrero Jr. as the face of their franchise.
Toronto locked up Guerrero with a 14-year, $500 million extension in April, putting to bed months of trade and free agency speculation. Now, with his future secured, the five-time All-Star is leading his team to a possible first division title since 2015.
The Blue Jays held a three-game lead atop the American League East entering Monday, but they had been faltering early in the weekend with back-to-back losses against the Milwaukee Brewers. On Sunday, they got themselves an 8-4 victory, and the way they finished the game was noteworthy.
After three blow-up outings in the span of nine days, the Blue Jays called upon closer Jeff Hoffman to finish off the Brewers finale. And Guerrero went to the mound as Hoffman was warming up to send a simple message: “You’re the guy.”
According to manager John Schneider, the mound meeting with Hoffman was just another way in which Guerrero is adjusting to being not only the face, but one of the emotional leaders of the Blue Jays.
“Vlad understands that anything he does has some weight to it,” Schneider said, per Mitch Bannon of The Athletic. “No matter what he does, what he says, how he does it, how he says it.
“So I think understanding kind of the situation, understanding how guys are feeling and being a leader on the team, kind of gave them a little bit of an extra kick in the ass or just a little bit more support.”
Hoffman still allowed two hits in his scoreless inning on Sunday, and his ERA sits at 5.02 in the first season of a three-year pact with the Blue Jays. But he’s got 76 strikeouts in 52 1/3 innings, and Guerrero was demonstrating the entire club’s belief that the righty can get the job done down the stretch.
Plus, you can’t be a leader if you don’t back it up with your play, and Guerrero’s .861 OPS on the season certainly gives him the clout to approach his teammates with any necessary comments.
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