Vlad: I don't regret saying I got $500M deal 'for what I already did'

Following the Toronto Blue Jays' Wednesday afternoon loss to the Baltimore Orioles, star first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. addressed the now-viral comments he made during an interview about his down season.

"I want people to understand one thing: The money they gave me wasn't for what I'm going to do; it was for what I already did," Guerrero said in Spanish during a sit-down with Dominican reporter Veronika Batista published Wednesday morning. "They didn't pay me because I'm going to hit 40 every year. They paid me for what I already accomplished.

"People are confused about that, but I think the same way they do. Like, sometimes I even say to myself: 'Bro, they gave you all that money and you're out here doing nothing.' I try."

After the reigning AL champions were eliminated from playoff contention with their loss to the Orioles, Guerrero attempted to clarify his remarks postgame.

"That was a quote from the interview when she asked me how I felt about this year," Guerrero told reporters through interpreter Hector Lebron, according to Keegan Matheson of MLB.com. "I said that, obviously, I feel really bad about the year that I had, that I couldn't help my team get to the postseason. I said I felt - that it's my personal opinion - that every player gets paid for what they have done. With that said, you guys have got to remember that I signed my contract at the beginning of last year, then I did put up a good year. Then the kind of playoffs that I had to help the team get into the World Series."

When asked if he regretted his words, Guerrero replied: "No, I don't regret myself. I'm not lying with what I say. I understand some fans, they don't understand the way and what I was trying to say specifically, but what I said is the way I feel."

The Blue Jays signed Guerrero to a 14-year, $500-million contract - the third-largest deal in baseball history - last April. He responded with a great 2025 season that included an October for the ages during Toronto's run to an AL title and Game 7 of the World Series.

This year, the 27-year-old has looked nothing like a $500-million star. Guerrero is hitting .263/.335/.360 with a career-low nine homers and 56 RBIs over 142 games. He's hit just one homer at Rogers Centre, while his .695 OPS is tied for the 23rd lowest among qualified hitters.

Guerrero also admitted Wednesday that the weight of his contract, which stands to make him a career Blue Jay, may have affected his play.

"Every at-bat that I fail, I think about my contract because I know people go to the field or they pay to go to see me be successful ... to do something good every year," he said, according to Sportsnet's Hazel Mae.

Manager John Schneider insisted Guerrero has been hard at work throughout the summer to turn his season around.

"Years like this, they can happen. ... He's not chalking this year up to 'OK, this is one of those years,'" Schneider said, per Sportsnet. "He worked tirelessly to try to get out of the funk he was in. He tried new things, he tried different ways to prepare, and he posted every single day."

Guerrero stressed Schneider's point as well.

"To the fans, I've never stopped working very hard," he said, per Matheson. "I am going to go into the offseason again to prepare myself the best I can (for 2027). Physically, mentally, everything that I have, like I always do for my team and teammates."