MLB analyst picks Marlins superstar over Vladimir Guerrero Jr. as the most valuable trade asset in baseball now

Toronto Blue Jays star Vladimir Guerrero Jr. recently rejected a contract extension offer tendered by the team. The multiple-time All-Star's contract with the Blue Jays is set to expire at the end of the season which will make him an unrestricted free agent in the winter. Some experts and commentators have already dubbed Guerrero as perhaps the biggest fish in the 2025-2026 free agency market.

However, in the most recent episode of the "Baseball Today" podcast hosted by MLB analyst Chris Rose and former pro Trevor Plouffe, the latter selected Miami Marlins' Sandy Alcantara as a bigger negotiation asset in the upcoming season.

"I think Sandy Alcantara will demand a bigger haul than trading for Vladimir Guerrero Jr.," said Plouffe. (23:00-23:16)

"I think because we don't talk about the Miami Marlins enough, we forget about how good Sandy Alcantara is," said Rose. "He won the Cy Young in 2022 and he's not even 30 years old. That's filthy," he added. (20:51-21:10)

Rose and Plouffe agreed that Alcantara is a greater negotiation tool over Vladimir Guerrero Jr. given the state of the Miami Marlins in 2025.

"I looked at the team's lineup and it looks like a B-rated Spring Training game. It just looks rough. So I guess the question is, the minute he proves that he's healthy for a couple months, don't they have to ship him out of town?" Rose continued. (21:50-22:05)

"The contract is so appetizing for teams with a yearly figure of around 17.3 million until 2026 with a team option in 2027. We've seen pitchers on the bottom of the rotation get $15 million deals. Alcantara doesn't belong to that category. He's an ace," Plouffe added. (22:11-22:30)

Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s extension with the Blue Jays falls through

Former AL MVP candidate Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s contract will expire at the end of this year. When asked about whether the Toronto Blue Jays met his demands, he had an interesting response.

"They had their numbers. I had my numbers," said Guerrero through his interpreter.

Ever since his debut in 2019, Vlady Jr. has generated a total of 21.5 fWAR for the Blue Jays. In 2021, Guerrero led all of the majors with 48 home runs and led the AL in OBP, SLG, and OPS with a .401/.601/1.002 line, respectively.

That year, he won the Hank Aaron Award, and the Silver Slugger Award, finishing as runner-up in the AL MVP voting.