Latest News: Blue Jays propose a long-term contract extension to their first baseman, who is nearing free agency.

It’s easier said than done, no doubt. However, the best move the Blue Jays can make amid one of their five most disappointing seasons is to secure a long-term contract extension with Vladimir Guerrero Jr., ensuring he remains the franchise’s cornerstone for years to come.

Vladdy is on an incredible hot streak. His double leading off the third inning in the Jays’ 4-3, 10-inning loss to the Yankees in the Bronx on Sunday extended his hitting streak to 17 games and marked his 19th extra-base hit during that period.

The 25-year-old first baseman has been the top hitter in the game over the past three weeks, staying focused despite the team’s dismantling at the trade deadline.

This isn’t just a short burst of success. Guerrero has consistently improved all aspects of his game throughout the year. It started slowly, admittedly, and the idea of a massive contract extension seemed absurd a month into the season when Guerrero was hitting just .206 through the first 27 games.

Since his near-MVP breakout in 2021, when he led the major leagues in both OBP and slugging percentage and tied Kansas City’s Salvador Pérez for the top spot in home runs with 48 (four more than his Hall of Fame father ever hit), the Montreal-born Dominican’s numbers had been declining. Those 48 homers were followed by 32, then 26, and just three a month into this season. His OPS dropped from 1.002 to .818 to .788.

But things began to turn around. A double against the tough righty Tyler Glasnow of the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 27 was a glimmer of hope in a game where Guerrero struck out three times. A two-hit game followed, then another. Nearly three weeks later, he had hit in 14 of 15 games, batting .397 over that span but with only one home run. The hits kept coming (.357 in May) but not the power, with only five doubles and two homers.

Why the Blue Jays need to lock up Vladimir Guerrero Jr. right now

In late June, his power finally returned, and since then, he’s been on an impressive tear.

A solo homer off Carlos Carrasco on June 21 was the Jays’ only run in a 7-1 loss in Cleveland and Guerrero’s eighth homer of the season, 75 games in. Before that game, he was on pace to hit just 15 home runs all year. He’s hit 15 since. From that game on, Vladdy has hit an incredible .390 with a staggering 1.247 OPS and 17 doubles to go along with those 15 homers over 37 games. During his current 17-game hitting streak, Guerrero is hitting .500 with a 1.651 OPS. These are extraordinary numbers.

Despite perceptions that Guerrero has been a disappointment since his stellar 2021 season, the reality is that he is on a Hall of Fame trajectory.

He’s only three months older than Joey Loperfido, the rookie outfielder acquired by the Jays from Houston in last week’s Yusei Kikuchi trade. He’s younger than Spencer Horwitz, who could be a finalist for American League Rookie of the Year. This isn’t about buying high because of a hot streak. Overall, Guerrero has hit .290 with an .880 OPS since he turned 21, with 162-game averages of 34 doubles, 35 home runs, and 103 RBIs. Even if he cycles through great, really good, and fine seasons for the next dozen years, he remains a superstar bat.

Free agency looms at the end of next season, and the closer it gets, the harder it will be to sign him. It’s no longer about sharing risk, as the front office likes to say; the risk is that Guerrero leaves next October and the Jays spend a decade searching for a bat like his as he excels for another team.

It will be more expensive than the team would prefer. The final years of the deal might get ugly; they almost always do. But it’s absolutely worth it, especially as Blue Jays fans are quickly losing faith in the team and its management.

Pay the man. Make him a forever Blue Jay. Do it now.