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Toronto Blue Jays slugging first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. once ruled out ever playing for the New York Yankees, saying he would not sign with them, “not even dead.”

Guerrero, who doubled down on that sentiment as recently as last year, is no longer discounting any possibilities, instead talking about the “business” of baseball.

With the MLB trade deadline less than two months away and the Blue Jays already appearing buried in the American League postseason chase, Guerrero was asked again about his thoughts on perhaps going to the AL East rival Yankees. New York could be looking for help, since first baseman Anthony Rizzo is expected to be out until August due to a broken forearm.

“Sometimes one says things. It is not that I am trying to take back what I said about the Yankees. But this is a business. I sat down and spoke with my dad (Vladimir Guerrero Sr.) and my family, and this is a business. And I said I would never again talk about this topic and lots of people have asked me about it,” Guerrero told Virus Deportivo on Monday.

Guerrero, the 2021 AL MVP runner-up when he led the majors with 48 home runs to go with 111 RBIs, a .311 batting average and an OPS mark of 1.002, started this season slowly. He was hitting only .206 with three home runs and 10 RBIs through April 26.

In 51 games since then, though, he is hitting .327 with seven home runs, 26 RBIs and 22 walks with only 33 strikeouts.

The Blue Jays’ fortunes have not turned around, however. After winning 92 games in 2022 and 89 last year, and making the playoffs as a wild card each season, they’re 35-43 entering Tuesday. Toronto has lost seven straight games, a season high.

“Like I tell you, I’m a player, and if a team picks me or if they do something, it’s because they need it, obviously, and I’ll be happy to help any team,” Guerrero added on Monday. “But right now, I’m just focused on helping my team try to get out of this bad streak.”

–Field Level Media