Vladimir Guerrero Jr. sat alone at the end of the dugout Tuesday, head down, long after everyone else left.
That image says more than any stat line could about where this season has gone for him.
He hasn't hit a home run at Rogers Centre in 374 days. His last one there came on Aug. 17, 2025.
At home this year, with 14 games left there, Guerrero has zero home runs and 16 RBIs. Zero, in the largest ballpark of his own team.
This is the first season of his 14-year, $500 million deal. It's hard to imagine a rougher way to start it.
Last October felt like the exact opposite story. Guerrero posted a 1.289 OPS across three playoff rounds and 18 games, numbers that sit just behind Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig on the all-time list.
He outslugged Aaron Judge. He nearly matched Shohei Ohtani in the World Series. That version of Guerrero looked untouchable.
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This year's version is almost unrecognizable. His WAR sits at 1.1, down from 4.6 a season ago and well below his career average near 5.0.
If his number matched last year's, the math says Toronto would already be in the playoffs.
Asked Tuesday what's behind the outlier season, manager John Schneider didn't have a clean answer.
"That's a good question," Schneider said. He hasn't dropped Guerrero in the order despite everything.
The clubhouse tried something different instead, quietly moving Guerrero's locker to the other end of the room, into Kevin Gausman's old spot.
Whether a locker swap fixes a two-strike average under .175 is the kind of thing nobody can really answer.
He was in the indoor cage before 3 p.m. Tuesday taking extra swings, then outdoor batting practice, then went 1-for-4 that night against the Royals. Whatever's wrong, it isn't a lack of effort.
Ahead of him in the order, Brett Bateman and Nathan Lukes, combined salary under $1.5 million, had five hits and scored two runs. Guerrero scored none. Again.
His OPS at home sits at .647. Manny Lee, a light-hitting shortstop from the 1992 championship team, put up a .659 OPS in his final Toronto season. That's the comparison Guerrero is living right now.
If the Blue Jays miss the playoffs by a game or two, the reason will be simple. The highest-paid player in franchise history didn't get it done when it counted most.
For a franchise that's already paid out $500 million banking on the version of Guerrero we saw last October, this is the season everyone involved has to hope never happens again.
Do you think Vladimir Guerrero Jr. turns his season around before it's too late for the Blue Jays?
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