For now, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is honoring his commitment. Furthermore, Guerrero Jr. is already working out hard to get himself into better shape.
Remember, the Blue Jays organization said at the conclusion of the season that they wanted to see Guerrero Jr. lose weight coming into 2020. Now, it looks like he’s working towards that result.
#BlueJays Blue Jays CEO Mark Shapiro told Torontos 590 The Fan on Thursday that Vladimir Guerrero Jr. couldnt be pushing himself harder in offseason workouts. https://t.co/Q1qiobeqlu
— MLB Daily Lineups (@DailyMLBLineups) November 7, 2019
Here is the money quote on the subject:
Blue Jays CEO Mark Shapiro told Toronto’s 590 The Fan this morning that Vladimir Guerrero Jr. “couldn’t be pushing himself harder” in offseason workouts.
Furthermore, Guerrero Jr. was solid in his rookie year despite missing some games due to injury or lack of conditioning. Still, he didn’t manage to make the three finalists for the AL Rookie of the Year; which is a little bit of a sign of missed expectations. That said, Guerrero Jr. finished his rookie campaign with a decent enough .272/.339/.433 and 15 home runs to go along with a 2.1 bWAR.
The long-term outlook for Guerrero Jr. should remain ‘arrow pointing up’ and even more so if he’s able to drop a few pounds or add some muscle. You get the feeling that Toronto isn’t worried about an actual weight number, simply Guerrero Jr. becoming more solid and having good weight distributed on his frame. This should increase his durability, and help hold up to the rigors of a long 162-game season.
Undeniably, I am a fan of this kid. First, I really liked his father when he played. Second, I like that he’s a swinger like pops, and I think he is an excellent ambassador of the game in three different countries. Finally, he’s just kind of fun to watch when he’s going right; as evidenced in the 2019 Home Run Derby.
Keep up the hard work, Vladimir. It never goes to waste.
