Vlad Guerrero Jr. Said WHAT about His $500M Blue Jays Contract?!?!

A throwaway Red Sox and Yankees argument at the end of the show turned into a surprisingly sharp debate about what a baseball contract actually pays for, courtesy of Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

It started with a simple question: who's starting for the Red Sox next Tuesday? The studio went back and forth on the rotation, with Sonny Gray's name in the mix and a left, right, left plan in mind. The Yankees side countered with its own arms. Rodon "just had an incredible finish," and then came the Gerrit Cole needle.

"We own that guy," came the Red Sox side's shot at Cole. Soon enough the studio had invented a new category for him: "Cole is fugazi."

That opened the real argument. Did the Yankees get their money's worth when they signed Cole? "Oh, absolutely," came the answer. The comeback was immediate: "How many rings you got?" And then the question that sparked the rest of the segment: "What are we playing for? Money? What are you, Vladimir Guerrero over there?"

The Vlad reference was to a quote that made the rounds, summarized in studio as the idea that "he didn't get paid for what he's doing this year. He's gotten paid for past performance." One voice called it "the most insane quote I've ever heard." Another pointed out, "That's really not how the contract works."

Not everyone dismissed the question. One member of the crew admitted it's an argument he's been having with friends since he was about 15 or 16. Is half of it for what you did, and half for what comes next?

The answer from the desk drew the line clearly. "You always get paid for what you did because you've proven you've done it," but "the amount of money that's larger than what you made while showing you can do it is for what you're supposed to do next."

And then the pop culture reference landed. "If I'm a fan of the Blue Jays watching Vlad Jr. not perform up to the previous years this year, I'm going full Jon Hamm," came the explanation. "That's what the money is for."

The studio erupted. "Bingo. Bingo. Thanks, Jon."

The explanation kept going, with a clean way of putting it. What you've done "grants you the opportunity for the raise, but the raise is there for what you're supposed to do next." A fan wondering what's next doesn't care about those five great years that came before. As it was put in studio: "The banner doesn't read your contract."

That, the argument went, is exactly what came to mind when reading the Vlad Jr. quote. And the numbers backed up the frustration. He has nine home runs this year.

"It's been pretty tough for him," someone acknowledged. For a player on that kind of deal, the show's point was simple. The money was never a reward for the past. It was a bet on the future, and Blue Jays fans are allowed to want the return.