DUNEDIN, Fla. -- Blue Jays camp feels whole again, now that Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is home.
Back from the World Baseball Classic, where his Dominican team was the life of the party until falling short in the semifinals, Guerrero brings back the realities of a new season with him. When the Blue Jays’ entire starting infield left for the WBC at the beginning of March, it felt like some of the momentum around here was paused. Vladdy is the man in charge of pressing ‘play’ again.
“It was a great experience. I really enjoyed it,” Guerrero said through club interpreter Hector Lebron. “The end result wasn’t what we expected, but it was great. I had the opportunity to play with some teammates who I’ve wanted to play with since I was young.”
The Dominican lineup was one of the greatest collections of talent we’ve seen. There was Fernando Tatis Jr. up top, Juan Soto and Vladdy in the heart of the order, then Manny Machado, Junior Caminero and Julio Rodríguez behind them.
Each night, baseball fans from the rest of the world were drawn in by the Latin baseball culture. Venezuela’s championship win over the United States on Tuesday captured just how much the WBC means to these countries and these players, and through the early days of the tournament, Guerrero’s Dominican Republic team was impossible to look away from. Guerrero put together an excellent WBC, too, going 8-for-18 (.444) with two home runs over five games.
“My greatest pleasure was that I played for my family,” Guerrero said. “Nobody in my family had the chance to play in a tournament like this. I did, and it was an unbelievable experience for me and my family. The joy of playing with my teammates, great players who I’ve always wanted to play together with since I was younger, those were the two things that I can say were great for me.”
Guerrero has the memories to hold onto, but now the 2026 season is sitting right in front of him. Opening Day is in just over a week. Should these players ride the high right into the regular season, or is it healthier to downshift, catch their breath and ramp up again? It depends on the person, but there’s a sense of underlying momentum to this.
The million-dollar question here: Can the energy and intensity of the WBC propel Guerrero into a hot start and big season?
“In a way, yes,” Guerrero said. “In a way, it’s so-so because you still have Spring Training and you still have to get better at a few things for the season. Playing in a short tournament like the WBC, you don’t have the chance to work on some things. When you’re playing for your country, there’s no time to get better, you just have to get out there and compete. But yes, I think it will help me a little bit.”
This momentum should apply to Guerrero more than most other players. We’ve seen it over and over throughout his career, that the version of Guerrero who is having fun at the ballpark is the best, most productive version of himself. Some players need to be deadly serious to unlock their max potential. Guerrero needs to be having a good time. It’s something we don’t have a fancy stat to measure just yet.
We saw this in the Blue Jays’ postseason run, when Guerrero played like a genuine superstar.
“Before the Division Series, you could kind of see a different edge to him,” manager John Schneider said. “He was just relaxed and a little bit more focused.”
The Blue Jays need Guerrero now more than ever. This is a World Series-caliber team, and the only difference is that this year, we actually know that going into the season. Guerrero is the one man capable of raising this lineup’s ceiling from good to great, and if there are regressions or injuries elsewhere in the lineup, Guerrero can singlehandedly erase any of that by himself.
It’s a tall ask, but when you sign a $500 million deal, there’s some small print in that contract binding you to tall asks.
Guerrero just keeps proving that these big moments bring out the best of him, too. First it was the World Series run, now the WBC. What’s next?