Vladimir Guerrero Jr. knows John Schneider's Blue Jays need more from him while the losses keep stacking up.
That is why his latest comments hit. Guerrero did not dodge the issue or hide behind bad luck. He said he has felt rushed at times, has wanted to do too much, and has put pressure on himself because so many teammates are hurt.
That quote sounds like a star carrying the weight of the room. Guerrero said it is harder not to force the issue when he looks around and sees injuries piling up, because everybody looks to him and he wants to be the guy who helps the club win.
Right now, that pressure is showing. Through 40 games, Guerrero is hitting .314 with an .814 OPS, which looks solid on the surface but does not match the impact Toronto needs from the middle of its lineup.
The bigger number is the power. Guerrero has only 2 home runs and 16 RBI so far, and for a hitter expected to drive this offense, that is a quieter start than the Blue Jays can afford.
Toronto is 18-23 entering Tuesday, 9.5 games behind the Rays in the AL East. That losing record makes every flat night from the heart of the order feel heavier.
«Sometimes I feel a little bit rushed, sometimes I want to do too much,» Guerrero said, and all the injuries make it harder for him to not try and force the issue. «It is (harder), because every time you look at your teammates and everybody looks at me right here and you want to be that guy. You want to be the guy who goes out there and tries to help the team win. That's why sometimes you put pressure on yourself instead of relaxing and having fun out there.»
Guerrero is owning the pressure, but Toronto needs production
There is honesty in what Guerrero said, and that matters. He is not pretending everything is fine. He is admitting that the injuries around him have made it tougher to stay loose and just play his game.
That lines up with what the Blue Jays are dealing with. Addison Barger is on the injured list, Alejandro Kirk is still rehabbing, and Toronto's injury page keeps reading like a roster problem instead of a short rough patch.
Still, honesty alone does not change the standings. The Blue Jays need Guerrero to stop playing sped up and get back to looking like the hitter pitchers have to fear in every big spot.
He does not need to carry the whole roster by himself. But he does need to relax enough to let the game come back to him, because the version of Guerrero trying to force everything is not the version that changes a season.
That is the tension inside his quote. He wants to be the answer, and that says a lot about how seriously he takes the moment. But Toronto probably has a better shot of climbing out of this if Guerrero stops chasing hero swings and starts trusting his own rhythm again.
For now, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. sounds like a star who understands exactly what is going wrong. The next step is making sure that urgency turns into damage at the plate instead of more pressure in the dugout.
Is Vladimir Guerrero Jr. putting too much pressure on himself right now?
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