Toronto Blue Jays Sign Vladimir Guerrero
The Toronto Blue Jays have just become an even more dangerous team. The Blue Jays announced Thursday that the team has signed free agent desginated hitter Vladimir Guerrero to a minor league deal. Guerrero will earn a pro-rated contract of $1.3 million if he is called up to the majors.
The 37-year-old former outfielder spent his 2011 season with the Baltimore Orioles. He played in 145 games for the Orioles batting 2.90/.317/.416. Guerrero also belted 13 home runs and recorded 63 RBI for the team as well. Even though Guerrero had a decent season with the Orioles, he failed to sign with anyone during the offseason and now is lucky enough to land with the Blue Jays.
The signing of Guerrero puts current designated hitter Adam Lind on alert. Lind is batting a poor .198 and only had three home runs and 10 RBI to his credit this season in 101 at-bats. Lind is also batting with the nice protection of Jose Bautista batting in front of him so there is no real reason for him to be struggling unless he is injured.
Guerrero is only about a season removed from his fantastic 2010 performance with the Texas Rangers making everyone realize that age could be just a number for this guy. In that season with the Rangers he batted .300/.345/.496 and hit 29 home runs driving in 115 RBI which even garnered him some MVP votes.
We will see how long it takes for Guerrero to make it to the Toronto team and what he will do for the squad. Currently, the Blue Jays are 17-14 and are in third place in the American League East division.
Follow Ryan Gaydos on Twitter @RyanGaydos or like him on Facebook.
