Guerrero Jr., Bichette among players to report to Blue Jays spring training

TORONTO — The Toronto Blue Jays are finally back at spring training.

Stars Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, and Teoscar Hernandez were among the players who reported to Toronto's training camp this morning.

The players got to work at the Blue Jays facility in Dunedin, Fla., a day after Major League Baseball settled its labour strife.

A lockout had threatened to cancel the 2022 season until an agreement was reached between MLB and its players' association late Thursday.

The deal raises the competitive-balance tax threshold by US$34 million over five years, up from a $21 million hike over the 2017-21 deal and an $11 million rise from 2011-16.

Young star players like Guerrero and Bichette were the biggest beneficiaries of the deal.

Shohei Ohtani earned $545,000 in 2018, when he was voted American League Rookie of the Year. Had the new agreement been in place then, he would have earned an additional $750,000.

Cody Bellinger was at $605,000 in 2019, when he won National League MVP. Under the new deal, he would have gotten an extra $2.5 million.

The 22-year-old Guerrero finished second in AL MVP voting last season, earning 269 votes to Ohtani's 420.

Guerrero finished last season with a .311 batting average, leading the majors with 48 home runs and 123 runs. His .401 on-base percentage, .601 slugging percentage, and 1.002 OPS were the best in the AL.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 11, 2022.