Guerrero Jr. pleads to fans to ‘be patient’ as struggling Blue Jays look to get back into playoff race

Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. looks on from the dugout after striking out in his first at bat against the Tampa Bay Rays during first inning MLB baseball action in Toronto on Thursday, July 23, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is asking fans of the Toronto Blue Jays to “be patient” despite the 2025 American League champions sitting well out of the playoff picture with just over two months remaining in the regular season.

Guerrero Jr., who’s in the midst of the worst season of his MLB career, spoke to reporters on Saturday afternoon ahead of Toronto’s game against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.

“Be patient. I know things are not going the way we want it, but I can promise all our fans every time we go out there, we take the field to win the game,” said Guerrero Jr. through team interpreter Hector Lebron.

“We’re humans, and sometimes things don’t happen the way you want it, regardless of your preparation. That’s baseball. But I can really promise them, we’re going to work. We’re trying to win some games. I know they’ve always been there when we’re winning, but we need our fan base to be there right now. But because never know, things can change.”

The Blue Jays lost the series opener to the Red Sox on Friday night by a score of 6-4 before winning Saturday, 6-0, to improve their record to 48-57 on the season.

Toronto sits 5.5 games behind the Cleveland Guardians for the third and final wild card spot in the American League with a total of six teams still to jump.

With 57 games remaining in the regular season, the Jays would need to post a 33-24 record the rest of the way to finish .500, a mark which would still likely not be enough to make the postseason.

The Blue Jays have been one of the worst hitting teams in baseball this season, sitting last in runs, RBIs and OPS. Guerrero Jr. is hitting .262 with six home runs, 42 RBIs and a .697 OPS over 99 games in 2026 and has not hit a homer at Rogers Centre.

He acknowledged his lack of output at the plate.

“We all know the home runs aren’t there yet, but with a little click, they will be there at the end of the season. My focus is to keep doing that and keep hitting the ball hard,” he said.

The 27-year-old Guerrero Jr., who is playing in the first season of a massive 14-year, $500 million contract, has been a shadow of the slugger that led the Blue Jays to Game 7 of the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers last October.

Guerrero Jr. has never finished with an OPS lower than .772 (rookie season in 2019) during his eight-year MLB career.