Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s self-imposed deadline came and went without a contract extension, which means the slugging first baseman will leave Toronto after this season.

When a player gives a negotiating deadline, he means it. There will be no more contract talks with the Blue Jays until Guerrero hits free agency. At that point, they will be one of 30 teams with a chance to sign him.

But the reality is the Blue Jays will not re-sign him. Guerrero made it clear on Tuesday that his camp and the Jays were not close in their negotiations. If they weren’t close now, they won’t be close in November.

Supply and demand affects the price of players. It’s economics 101. Guerrero will be the best hitter available in the market, and the demand will go from just the Jays to as many as 12 teams with a real chance to sign him. He is one of one in the supply chain and the demand will be profound. The price will only go up.

It’s unclear how much Guerrero was ultimately seeking. The Jays may have balked at a completely unrealistic ask by Guerrero’s camp. We just don’t know. So, it may not have been a mistake for the team to have walked away from the deal at this point.

But I believe there was a miscalculation. I have said all along that the Jays should have made Guerrero their top priority this off-season. They should have made every attempt to sign him in November, understanding that the longer you wait the higher the price will creep. Instead they chose to pursue Juan Soto.

The Jays had little chance to sign Soto, since the Mets and........

© TSN