Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is a must-sign for Blue Jays with a rising price tag

The Blue Jays are again expected to try to lock up superstar first baseman/third baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. this winter, and though they have a better shot with Guerrero than co-star Bo Bichette, they will need to step up efforts to keep Guerrero, who’s in great shape and back to near MVP level.

Previous attempts to extend Guerrero (and Bichette) never got close, and Guerrero’s price is only rising. One obvious comp is Boston’s Rafael Devers, who got $313.5 million for 10 years.

Like Guerrero, Devers is a mega-star hitter who was a must sign (in his case after the Red Sox foolishly sent the great Mookie Betts away for Alex Verdugo and others). Guerrero will likely aim higher.

Guerrero is a must sign not only because Toronto passed on trading him in the summer, but because he’s the homegrown star thought open to staying.

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The big-market Jays have the money left after Shohei Ohtani took the offered $700M ($437.4M valuation counting deferrals) from the Dodgers instead, and Toronto badly needs to appease an engaged, disgruntled fan base.

Good on the Mariners for hiring the beloved duo of Dan Wilson and Edgar Martinez as manager and hitting coach. Perhaps that’s a sign they are re-embracing some old-school philosophy. Insiders say their previous overemphasis on analytics and insistence on loft is behind their startlingly atrocious offense (better than only the White Sox and Marlins).

Even superstar Julio Rodriguez disappointed. Says a scout, who blames the organization: “He scoops the ball uphill. It is bizarre.”

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Ex-Cardinal player and coach Skip Schumaker would make a natural manager candidate in St. Louis if the Cardinals make a change.

Two other obvious managerial candidates there: Cardinals icons Yadier Molina and perhaps even all-time great Albert Pujols.

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Other manager candidates include Rangers bench coach Will Venable (who’s turned down many opportunities elsewhere), Cubs bench coach Ryan Flaherty, Cubs first base coach Mike Napoli, Yankees third base coach Luis Rojas, Tigers bench coach George Lombard and Dodgers first base coach Clayton McCulloch — plus the more veteran Don Mattingly, Buck Showalter and Charlie Montoyo.

Any notion Dodgers manager Dave Roberts could be in trouble seems ridiculous considering he’s not only won more regular-season games over the past seven years than anyone, he’s won more postseason games, too.

The Dodgers are probably the best team, but there’s no known time table for Tyler Glasnow or Clayton Kershaw. Things are more wide open than ever. Crapshoot coming.

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