“Don’t need Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to be Superman” - Blue Jays manager gives blunt take on expectations from 1B

MLB: Baltimore Orioles at Toronto Blue Jays - Source: Imagn
MLB: Baltimore Orioles at Toronto Blue Jays - Source: Imagn

The Toronto Blue Jays are looking for a bit more from their first baseman, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., whom they extended to a 14-year, $500 million deal. While Guerrero is hitting .285, the home run number is worrying the Blue Jays management.

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Guerrero has only hit 13 home runs this season and is fourth in the list of Blue Jays sluggers with the most home runs in 2025. George Springer leads the list with 17, followed by Addison Barger (14) and Bo Bichette (13).

Ahead of the series finale against the New York Yankees on Thursday, manager John Schneider made his expectations clear for the first baseman.

“We don’t need Vlad to be Superman, but we need him to be him," Schneider said. "By power standards, probably everyone is looking for a little bit more. When that happens, that just adds a different dynamic to our team that’s already really good.”
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Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has struggled with power in July, hitting only one home run and three extra-base hits. In 16 games, he has hit .289 but has only slugged for .373, which is far below his career slugging of .494.


Blue Jays tie franchise record with 10-game home win streak, thanks to Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

In a thrilling 8-6 win over the Giants on July 20, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. homered as the Blue Jays completed a three-game sweep to extend their winning streak to 10 games, tying a mark achieved in 1985.

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Guerrero also helped himself to a milestone earlier this month. On July 12, he recorded his 1,000th career hit, becoming the youngest player in Blue Jays history to reach the feat, at 26 years and 117 days.

“I’m very proud to do it here in this organization,” Guerrero said through club interpreter Hector Lebron (via MLB.com). “There are going to be many things that I’m going to be here for during my career.”
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Last week, the first baseman made his fifth All-Star appearance. He reached there by surging past Paul Goldschmidt in AL first base fan voting, amassing over 1.19 million votes.

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Edited by Bhargav
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