'One more time': Guerrero and the Blue Jays enter the 2025 season with renewed hope

Early in the morning of Dönedin, Florida, Feb. 22, before the Blue Jays' first game of spring training, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was the first to walk into the TD Ballpark to prepare for hitting practice.

As team-mates like Bo Bichette and Alejandro Kirk entered the pitch, the hitter was fine-tuning the bat grip behind the cage. The stadium stereo played Daft Punk's "One More Time."

"One more time! Guerrero hummed to the music. He danced around the rim of the cage and twisted his hips to the chorus. "One more time! "

Teammates smiled knowingly, and the coaching staff watched with coffee. Four days ago (18 February), the deadline for his contract extension negotiations with the team passed quietly, but at the moment, Guerreiro is still a familiar source of joy for fans - the sunny teenager who wanders away from the distraction. But the easy time is over, the spotlight is officially on, and the real season has begun.

Whether 2025 will be better, worse or radically different, upheaval is brewing — especially if the Blue Jays can't end their playoff winless run since 2016, and especially if they can't convince Guerreiro to stay and become the "legendary cornerstone" of President Mark Shapiro's dreams.

"It's a lot better than last year, it's completely different," Guerrero said of the atmosphere in the locker room, "and we had a lot of meetings in the offseason. I want to be a better communicator and be more vocal. I used to be afraid of being ridiculed because I didn't speak English well, but now I'm better and can communicate freely. "

This story of transformation was confirmed by the whole team. Starting pitcher José Berríos revealed that the coach-player relationship has improved dramatically after "certain factors" affected player confidence and enjoyment last year. Beecht added: "The team is really well integrated now, everyone is enjoying the game and preparing for the game, and the whole team is more mature. "

Coach John Schneider called the chemistry an "eternal quest" – when teams are throwing money at talent, invisible cohesion is the key to the game.

As a totem of hope after the 2015-16 golden generation, Guerrero has always symbolized the championship chase. But hopefully there is also a shelf life. At Dönedin last week, Shapiro bluntly said he believed the 25-year-old would eventually re-sign, "both in the near future and in free agency".

General manager Ross Atkins was reluctant to go into details on the eve of the season, but the pressure was everywhere. On Wednesday, he said: "I am full of hope (Spanish: yo tengo esperanza). That's how I feel. "

When the melody of "One More Time" rings on the pitch again, the only thing Blue Jays can do is cherish the moment – as if it might be the last.

Guerrero's career strikes: 0.285/0.352/0.524, 169 hits

Blue Jays' last playoff win: 2016 Wild Card Game (4-5 loss to the Orioles)

2025 Team Salary: $197 Million (11th in MLB)

In the morning light at Dunedin, the dancing red No.44 jersey reminds us that there is some hope and that it is worth coming again.