On Monday night, the Toronto Blue Jays lost their seventh consecutive game, this time in walk-off fashion after taking a 6-2 lead into the eighth inning (BOS 7, TOR 6). At 35-43, the Blue Jays are in the AL East cellar and 7.5 games out of a wild-card spot. Only the very bad Los Angeles Angels, Oakland Athletics, and Chicago White Sox are further out of the race in the AL.
The Blue Jays will be faced with tough decisions at the trade deadline, including whether to break up their core and trade players like Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Bichette was just activated off the injured list Tuesday). Two years ago, Vlad Jr. said he would never play for the AL East rival New York Yankees -- "Not even (when I'm) dead," he said -- and he doubled down last April.
"It goes back with my family," Guerrero said about not wanting to play for the Yankees. "That's my decision, and I will never change that."
Well, apparently things have changed. Prior to Monday's game, Guerrero softened his stance against playing for the Yankees while speaking with the Spanish outlet Virus Deportivo. Here's the video:
If I get trade to #Yankees I will do my job and try to help that team or any team to win. I’m a professional and love this game #VladimirGuerreroJr told Omar from Virus Deportivo pic.twitter.com/5rQ5a6APzr
— Mike Rodriguez (@mikedeportes) June 25, 2024
"I'm a worker, professional, and I go out on the field and play," Guerrero said. "... Sometimes you say things -- it's not that I am trying to take back what I said about the Yankees, what do I say, I don't hold back what I said about the Yankees -- but this is a business. I sat down and spoke with my dad and my family, and this is a business ... Like I tell you, I'm a player and if a team picks me or if they do something, it's because they need it, obviously, and I'll be happy to help any team. But right now, I'm just focused on helping my team try to get out of this bad streak."
The Yankees recently lost Anthony Rizzo to a broken arm and he wasn't playing all that well before the injury. Rookie Ben Rice has stepped in and done a nice job over the last few games, but a first-base upgrade figures to be on the trade deadline shopping list, and Guerrero would be a massive improvement for New York. Is a trade likely? Of course not, but the fit is obvious.
Guerrero, 25, is hitting .286/.368/.429 with 10 home runs this season, including .328/.396/.482 in his last 50 games. The Yankees have received a woeful .236/.301/.343 batting line from their first basemen this season. Going from that to Vlad Jr. would be one of the single biggest upgrades the Yankees could make at the deadline, not that is is expected to happen.
Despite the lack of first-base production, the Yankees sit atop the AL East at 52-28. They have lost seven of their last 10 games and four of their last five series, however. The Yankees open the two-game Subway Series with the Mets on Tuesday.
