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Aaron Judge (l) and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (r)

Before the 2023 season, the New York Yankees signed their superstar Aaron Judge, then 30 years old, to what was at the time the third-largest contract in MLB history. Coming off a 62 home run season — an American League record and still the highest single season total outside of baseball’s “steroid era” — Judge re-signed with the Yankees for nine years at $360 million.

At the time, Judge’s deal trailed only Mike Trout’s 12-year, $465 million pact with the Los Angeles Angels, and the $365 million over 12 years received by the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Mookie Betts.

All three of those deals were eclipsed this offseason when former Yankees outfielder Juan Soto signed with the New York Mets for 13 years and a stunning $765 million.

As of Sunday night a new contract enters the pantheon of ultra-rich MLB deals. According to multiple reports — and first reported by Fox Sports baseball insider Ken Rosenthal — the Toronto Blue Jays have now signed their 26-year-old first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to a contract extension worth $500 million over 14 seasons.

Guerrero’s Average Annual Salary Second Only to Soto’s

In terms of average annual value (AAV) Guerrero Jr.’s new contract — which will presumably start with the 2026 season after the four-time All-Star signed a one-year, $28.5 million deal to play 2025 in Toronto — would rank second all-time to Soto’s deal and narrowly tops Trout’s. The Angels’ future Hall of Famer makes $35.54 million each season, on average.

Guerrero Jr. will be paid $35.71 million annually.

While Soto still tops the list at $51 million AAV, Judge’s contract pays the second-highest at $40 million. But the deal signed by the Yankees two-time AL MVP and 2017 Rookie of the Year now looks like a major bargain. A comparison of Guerrero’s and Judge’s career performance on both offense and defense shows that the Yankee star is simply the far superior player.

First, in the “wins above replacement” (WAR) category, as calculated by Stathead, Judge has compiled a total of 53.3 in 1002 games. Guerrero Jr. has racked up 21.6 in 829 games. Looked at on a per-162 game basis, Judge is more than twice as valuable as Guerrero Jr., with a WAR of 8.62 per 162 games, compared to just 4.22 for “Vladdy.”

Yet judge will earn just 12 percent more than Guerrero Jr. annually, for twice the player value, assuming the two continue to produce at approximately the same rate they have in their respective careers so far.

Judge has recorded a career OPS of 1.013, highest among all active players and currently 10th on the all-time list. Babe Ruth at 1.164 and Ted Williams at 1.116 sit atop the all-time career OPS leader board.

Judge More Than Twice as Valuable as Vladdy

But Guerrero Jr., in seven MLB seasons, has put up a career OPS of .861. Converted to OPS+, a number that compares players to a league average of 100, Guerrero Jr. comes in a 137. That is, Guerrero has hit at a rate 37 percent better than average, in terms of on-base plus slugging percentages.

Judge has posted an OPS+ of 174 — or 74 percent better than the average hitter.

As a pure home run hitter, Judge is also vastly superior to Guerrero Jr. The Yankees superstar has a career total of 321, including his league-leading six so far in 2025. For Judge that comes out to 36.76 home runs for every 500 plate appearances.

Guerrero Jr.’s 160 round-trippers gives him 22.32 per 500 PA.

As defensive players, the difference may be even more stark. Judge has sent his career in the outfield, where according to Fangraphs numbers, his performance has been worth 58 defensive runs saved (DRS).

Guerrero has divided his career to date between third base and first base, with a Fangraphs total of -3 DRS. In other words, Guerrero Jr.’s defensive play costs his team runs.

With Sunday night’s news of Toronto’s new contract extension for Guerrero Jr., the Yankees can congratulate themselves on a contract for their superstar, Judge, that nets them significantly higher value per dollar.

Jonathan Vankin JONATHAN VANKIN is an award-winning journalist and writer who now covers baseball and other sports for Heavy.com. He twice won New England Press Association awards for sports feature writing. Vankin is also the author of five nonfiction books on a variety of topics, as well as nine graphic novels including most recently “Last of the Gladiators” published by Dynamite Entertainment. More about Jonathan Vankin