The Toronto Blue Jays seem to have hit a rough patch in their contract negotiations with Vladimir Guerrero Jr which is why there has been rumors of him being traded.
Guerrero stated how much is is expecting to sign for and has even given the Blue Jays a deadline as to when he will no longer be willing to talk of an extension yet Ross Atkins has yet to hit that number.
MLB insider Jim Bowden recently pointed out how terribly the Blue Jays have played their hand with both Guerrero and Bo Bichette as the players now have the upper hand and if they trade them, they will only be getting a portion on the value they would have gotten 1-2 years ago.
"The Blue Jays have really misplayed their hand with Guerrero and (Bo Bichette); they should have either extended them two years ago or traded them by this point," Bowden said.
"Now they're both one-year rentals, as you point out, with diminished trade value. The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal recently reported that the Jays are in talks with Guerrero about a long-term extension and fielding interest for Bichette, so we'll see if either of those avenues lead anywhere. -Bowden
As usual, Atkins seems to have messed this up with this extension and the Blue Jays will now need to figure out if they are willing to raise their offer up to probably close to $500 million or Guerrero or if they will trade him.
If the Blue Jays do trade Guerrero they will still get a solid return but it will definitely be a losing situation and will put them into a rebuild even if they think they can avoid one.
The only good solution here is to sign Guerrero for the amount he is looking for as it will lock him down for the rest of his career and it will show other free agents that the Blue Jays want to win.