Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is looking to pick up where he left off when the Toronto Blue Jays open the 2026 MLB season on Friday against the Athletics.
Guerrero was the talk of the baseball world during last year’s postseason, batting .397 with eight home runs and 15 RBI to lead the Blue Jays to within two outs of a World Series victory.
However, while his hitting had everyone talking, his growth as a leader spoke just as loudly as his on-field performance.
“I had conversations with guys like Aaron Judge, not only about what [Guerrero] was doing offensively because everyone knows he’s a good hitter, but good lord he’s blossomed as a leader,” ESPN’s Buster Olney told TSN1050’s First Up on Wednesday.
“George Springer told me that he encouraged Vladdy to be himself and come out and speak [because] when Vladdy speaks, it puts everyone’s hair up on end because he doesn’t do a lot of that.”
Guerrero was a star personality during last year’s postseason, mimicking New York Yankees play-by-play announcer John Sterling by yelling “Theeeee Yankees lose!” while joking with Fox Sports studio analyst and Hall of Fame player David Ortiz after the Blue Jays beat the Yankees in the American League Divisional Series.
He also changed up his routine for post-game interviews, electing to do them in English instead of through translator Hector LeBron, showing more confidence in his English-speaking skills.
But there was a moment in the World Series that really solidified Guerrero as one of the up-and-coming leaders in the majors.
“Before one of the games in the World Series, [manager] John Schneider told me that it was a quiet dugout after the national anthems were played,” said Olney. “Vladdy then yelled out ‘If any of you are nervous, just look at me.’
“I think that sets him up for the rest of his career, quite frankly, because everyone trusts him as a person, they respect his ability, and they respect his knowledge. But now, he’s grown into a leader. I think what happened to Vladdy last year is something that’s going to have an impact on this franchise for years to come.”
The core of the Blue Jays lineup will look significantly different this season with the departure of shortstop Bo Bichette to the New York Mets in free agency. Bichette was one of the premier hitters in baseball last year, batting .311 with 18 home runs and 94 RBI and was among the league leaders in hits (181) and doubles (44).
However, the Blue Jays have already experienced life without Bichette for a significant portion, going through the entire American League playoffs without him due to injury before he returned for the World Series.
Olney believes that the Blue Jays have enough offensive prowess round their lineup to make up for Bichette’s elite hitting and they could possibly be better defensively without him.
“Listening to a bunch of other people, they think that there will be addition by subtraction without Bichette,” said Olney. “Generally speaking, they’ll be better defensively and other teams feel like the Blue Jays have enough great hitters to grow and make up for Bichette leaving.
“On top of that, and I’ve seen this time and time again, players who have had their first success in the postseason [tend to] build on that. Vladdy is front and centre in that regard and it wouldn’t surprise me if he, Addison Barger, and other guys take a step forward because they know now that they can get it done in the biggest games because they’ve experienced it.”
Guerrero had a pedestrian 2025 regular season, by his standards. The 27-year-old first baseman hit .292 with 23 home runs and 84 RBI in 156 games last year, which was his worst offensive season since his rookie year in 2019.
However, Olney believes that Guerrero found something during last year’s playoff run and picked him to as the American League MVP in his pre-season predictions.
“[Blue Jays play-by-play voice] Dan Shulman told me if you look at all the great hitters in baseball, like Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge and Juan Soto, at Vladdy’s best, he hits good pitching better than anybody,” said Olney. “I think a lot of people believe that and if you didn’t believe it, what he did last postseason proved it.
“Now you have this other part of him that’s fully blossomed and has become an excellent clubhouse presence. I do think this year we’ll see a lot more of that with him.”