Former MLB MVP Offers Brutally Honest Assessment of Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s Swing

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is yet to hit a home run at Rogers Centre in Toronto, with all 7 of his homers coming on the road.

Former MLB MVP Offers Brutally Honest Assessment of Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s Swing

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Image via X/@Sportsnet)

The Toronto Blue Jays and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. have struggled in 2026. The first baseman has found difficulties with the bat and has suffered a major slump in offense. On Tuesday, a former MLB MVP offered a brutally honest assessment of his swing at the moment.

The Canadian side came into this season on the back of a massive heartbreak last season. They were 2 outs away in Game 7 from winning the World Series for the first time since their back-to-back triumphs in 1992 and 1993.

Guerrero Jr. and the Blue Jays ended up losing the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers and were left empty-handed at Rogers Centre. So when this season started, there was one goal in the minds of everyone connected with them. Go and win the World Series this year.

At the moment, this seems like a distant dream. The Blue Jays are at the bottom of the AL East standings with a 58-63 record, 16 games behind first-place Tampa Bay Rays. As for the Wild Card standings, they are 2.5 games behind the Texas Rangers, who hold the last spot with a 60-60 record.

In 112 games this year, Guerrero Jr. has just 7 home runs. The shocking part in this is that none of them have come at Rogers Centre.

With around 20 home games remaining for the Blue Jays, there is some concern among their fanbase regarding the 27-year-old. On Tuesday, former National League MVP Joey Votto shared his thoughts on X.

In a tweet, the former Cincinnati Reds star assessed that Guerrero Jr. was seeing the ball well. However, according to Votto, he is moving his body a bit too early.

Watching the Blue Jays game. Vladdy’s just not “back-legging” or “back-hipping”balls. His forward move is delaying his barrel from snapping in place. He sees the ball, knows it’s drivable, but his move causes the bat to lag. Keeps him from getting the barrel to the (target emoji)

Joey Votto said regarding Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Guerrero Jr. has had great numbers when it comes to offense in the past. Last year marked his 5th successive season in which he had hit more than 20 home runs.

Since 2021, the lowest batting average he has had was .264 in 2023, when he hit 26 home runs and had 94 RBIs. At the moment, he is on pace to hit fewer than 20 home runs this season.

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Blue Jays GM recently claimed that he was disappointed to not provide support to Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. having a down year was something hardly anybody expected. Given the way he performed last year, especially in the playoffs, many expected him to lead the offensive charge once again. Recently, General Manager Ross Atkins claimed that he was “disappointed” to not provide support to their first baseman.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Image via X/@TalkinBaseball_)

Last week, Atkins appeared on Sportsnet’s “Blair and Baker” show. During this, he was asked about the difficulties of Guerrero Jr. and why this issue was not fixed. The GM proceeded to drop a candid response regarding this.

I lose sleep. That is a very good question, a fair one. And we need to do a better job, you know, that I’m the most accountable for sure. And it has been very disappointing that we haven’t been able to provide the right support for him and the right feedback loop that is correcting this.

GM Ross Atkins said regarding Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Guerrero Jr. did lose some support in the batting lineup this year. In the offseason last year, the team lost Bo Bichette. The infielder penned a 3-year deal with the New York Mets and ended his tenure with the Toronto-based side.

The Dominican-Canadian international went 1-for-4 in their 5-3 win over the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday. He and his side will be hoping to complete the sweep before taking on the New York Yankees.

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