"I believe it will turn again, but I can't rest on my faith. I have to find solutions to better support him."
Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins hopes spending the off-season not far from the team’s player development complex in Dunedin, Fla., will help unlock what slugging star Vlad Guerrero Jr. has been missing over parts of the previous two seasons.It’s clear the Jays need and want more from Guerrero, who remains one of the hardest contact hitters in the game, but has struggled to translate that power into consistently reliable production.
Tapping into Guerrero’s ability and rediscovering some of that production that led to a breakthrough 48 home run season in 2021 would rank high in priorities, though much of the improvement would have to come from Guerrero himself. They’ve put up with his fitness issues earlier in his career and even let him try to play at third base, an assignment that was never going to end well.
Through six post-season games, the Jays are 0-6 and Guerrero three hits , with no home runs and is batting .136. Worse, during that brutal 2-0 loss in Minnesota to end a two-game wild-card sweep, a lack of focus caused Guerrero to be picked off at second base, ending one of the more promising opportunities to score in the game.“He is a focused individual,” Atkins said in defence of Guerrero. “He’s a very good player. He’s made huge contributions for us and he’s going to continue to.
Now, it’s up to the 24-year-old to take the next step and for the Jays to facilitate that progress, a task the team hopes will be made easier by a productive winter in Florida.From Gibby to John Schneider, mismanaging managers has been the Blue Jays' wayAtkins acknowledged that his team’s struggles to produce offensively has been a vexing source of frustration.
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