With only 48 games left in a season that has gone off the rails, the Toronto Blue Jays are still searching for solutions to Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s prolonged struggles. The 27-year-old slugger’s disappointing campaign has become one of the biggest reasons behind the defending American League champions’ dramatic fall from contention.
For the organization, the situation has been both frustrating and deeply concerning.
“I lose sleep,” Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins admitted during an appearance on Sportsnet’s Blair and Barker when discussing Guerrero’s difficult season. “We need to do a better job.
“(Guerrero) feels a lot of pressure and disappointment, but he’s handling it and facing it head on.”
Although Atkins carefully chose his words and accepted some responsibility, his comments reflected an organization that remains troubled by the franchise cornerstone’s inability to rediscover his form.
His remarks also challenged the long-standing belief that Guerrero was simply “one swing away” from breaking out of his slump, suggesting the issues have become more complex than a temporary cold streak.
“There’s no glaring, alarming concern,” Atkins said on Blair and Barker. “Once those small differences start to become patterns retraining them while you’re trying to maintain confidence is a very difficult thing.”
Despite that assessment, Guerrero’s numbers tell a different story. His struggles have coincided with Toronto’s disappointing 53-61 record, leaving the club in last place in the American League East and facing increasingly slim playoff hopes.
During his annual post-trade deadline media appearances, Atkins spoke candidly with both Sportsnet and TSN, making it clear the organization continues searching for answers but has yet to discover a breakthrough.
How bad is it for Guerrero?
One of the most surprising developments of Guerrero’s season is the possibility that he could finish the year without hitting a single home run at Rogers Centre.
The $500 million franchise player has managed only six home runs all season, a shocking total that has become symbolic of both his personal struggles and Toronto’s offensive collapse.
After another quiet performance in Houston, going 0-for-3 on Tuesday, Guerrero has gone hitless in his last 11 at-bats over three games. His OPS has also fallen to .687.
His frustration has occasionally boiled over, including moments where he has snapped bats over his knee, but Guerrero remains the centerpiece of a Blue Jays lineup that has produced the fewest runs in Major League Baseball.
Both Guerrero and the organization understand how closely Toronto’s offensive success is tied to his production.
What are the Blue Jays solutions for Guerrero woes?
According to Atkins, Guerrero continues to put in the work behind the scenes, and the club recognizes both his determination and desire to improve.
One of Toronto’s strategies has been to reduce the amount of instruction reaching Guerrero in hopes of simplifying his approach.
“We try to narrow those communication lines for him,” Atkins told TSN’s OverDrive. “That helps with the consistency. We don’t want eight Blue Jays voices. We’d like that to be about three.
“My interactions with Vladdy are about his family. About the human being and what he needs for us and what questions he has with the team. I’m really encouraged by his toughness and his perseverance.”
Although the Blue Jays have not completely abandoned hope for a late-season turnaround, their postseason chances continue to fade. Following Tuesday’s loss, Fangraphs projected Toronto’s playoff odds at just 4.5%.
Attention is already beginning to shift toward what could be a significant offseason reset.
Atkins technical breakdown of Guerrero’s struggles
With modern analytics and advanced technology available, the Blue Jays believe they understand what has gone wrong mechanically. The difficult part has been correcting those issues while preserving Guerrero’s confidence.
Speaking with TSN’s OverDrive, Atkins explained where the organization believes the problems began.
“Timing has been impacted,” Atkins said. “Rhythm which impacts confidence.
“It is such a fine motor skill to have that synched up and your timing starts to change just a hair then finding that rhythm to be synched up to be in powerful positions … is one of the hardest things to do in sports.”
As the slump has continued, Atkins acknowledged that confidence has become an increasingly significant factor.
“When (the swing) starts to get a little out of sync, that can start to impact things that are going on in your brain,” Atkins said of the former slugger. “Getting back to the pattern isn’t just a click of a button, isn’t us just showing him that pattern. It’s a feeling. He’s working towards it. I know he’s going to find it.”
Even so, Atkins stopped short of predicting an immediate turnaround.
“I’m not expecting it to be a light switch turnaround for any offensive player,” Atkins said. “But I do believe things can happen quickly.”
Are injuries holding Guerrero back?
While Guerrero has dealt with occasional back tightness throughout the season, the Blue Jays do not believe injuries fully explain his offensive decline.
During Toronto’s 7-2 loss to the Houston Astros, Guerrero appeared uncomfortable after running out a ground ball in the eighth inning.
After the game, manager John Schneider described the issue as nothing more than fatigue.
“He was just tight and tired,” Schneider said.
With afternoon games scheduled to finish the Houston series before Toronto travels to Chicago for another makeup contest against the Cubs, Guerrero could receive additional rest as the Blue Jays attempt to help their struggling star recharge for the season’s final stretch.