Vladimir Guerrero Jr., a Toronto Blue Jays All-Star, may or may not be available for trade, but one MLB insider says the Seattle Mariners are very interested in him.
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During a live webcast for Bleacher Report on Wednesday, MLB insider Jon Heyman revealed an intriguing trade rumor involving the Mariners and Guerrero.
“I do believe the Mariners have been in there trying to get Vladimir Guerrero,” claimed Heyman, an MLB Network insider who writes a baseball column for the New York Post. “I will still be surprised if he is traded, but he is being talked about at least.”
Heyman said that he believes the Blue Jays will “need to be blown away” by an offer to sell Guerrero before the MLB trade deadline of 3 p.m. next Tuesday, but he has heard the Mariners are serious about acquiring him.
“I’m hearing that the Mariners were actually pretty aggressive in trying to get Vlad and it has not happened,” Heyman informed me. “So I think Vlad’s staying.”
Guerrero started at first base for the American League in the All-Star Game last week and is presently hitting.293/.362/.479 for a.841 OPS, 17 home runs, and 60 RBI. Though he primarily plays first base, he began his MLB career at third base and has made four appearances there this season.
The Blue Jays entered Wednesday with a 45-55 record, placing them last in the AL East and 10 games shy of the AL’s last wild card slot. They’re only a couple seasons removed from making the playoffs, where they were swept in two straight games by the Mariners in the AL Wild Card Series.
While Toronto appears to be a great contender to sell, it has been widely reported that the team does not want to move key players such as Guerrero or struggling shortstop Bo Bichette. Heyman stated on Wednesday that they might consider dealing rental players with expiring contracts, including as catcher Danny Jansen, starting pitcher Yusei Kikuchi, and reliever Yimi García.
“I do think the Jays are mostly signaling to the majority of teams that they’re looking to trade just the rentals,” according to Heyman. “… I don’t think the Toronto leadership wants to say, ‘Look, it didn’t work. We’re starting over again. This isn’t the time for them to do it for their own good, probably.”
The Mariners (53-50) entered Wednesday basically knotted with the Houston Astros (52-49) for first place in the AL West, with the Texas Rangers (49-52) suddenly re-entering the contest only three games behind. Seattle is still in desperate need of offensive help, since their lineup this year is only marginally stronger than that of the Chicago White Sox (27-76) and Miami Marlins (36-65), the AL and NL’s bottom two teams, respectively. The M’s are now facing injuries, with shortstop J.P. Crawford (broken hand) and center fielder Julio Rodríguez (high ankle sprain) placed on the 10-day disabled list on Tuesday.
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