Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has gone hitless in 22 plate appearances. The Toronto Blue Jays are not doing any better, with seven losses in the last ten games. Although their latest 2-1 win against the Detroit Tigers improved their record to 20-25 in the AL East, Guerrero Jr.’s bat remained cold. In the post-game conference, the hitter disclosed his concerns to the reporters.

“Obviously, I don’t feel OK right now. I’m not feeling right, and you guys can tell that. I’ve been working very hard,” he said, via Keegan Matheson of MLB.com.

“I’m just looking to hit one ball very hard. It will stay in my head and my mind. I know things are going to change.”

Guerrero Jr., who signed a 14-year, $500M contract with the Blue Jays, was among the team’s key contributors last season in the World Series run. His go-ahead two-run homer off Shohei Ohtani in Game 4 helped even the series at 2-2.

That World Series form has evaporated. Guerrero Jr. has gone hitless in his last eight at-bats. On Saturday, he went 0-for-4 but scored a run on a fielder’s choice or error. His swing looked out of sync across all four at-bats: a double-play, a pop-up on Casey Mize’s pitch in the fourth, and two groundouts.

This season, Guerrero Jr. has slashed .280/.370/.360 so far, with two homers and 19 RBIs. But the slash line masks the severity of his hitting slump. His last home run came on April 20 against the Los Angeles Angels.

His continued offensive slump has also affected the Blue Jays, on top of the injuries. With hitters like Alejandro Kirk and Addison Barger already on the IL, the two-time Silver Slugger’s slump is hitting Toronto harder. To hit, the Blue Jays are collectively hitting .243.

On Saturday, bench player Yohendrick Pinango hit his first MLB homer, a sign of Toronto’s reliance on depth.

“That’s the hardest thing, to hit a homer, especially in a close game like this,” Piñango said, per Sportsnet. “I knew it was very important for the team, so yeah: it was great.”

After Pinango’s achievement, Guerrero Jr. reportedly congratulated him. On May 13, the team recalled Pinango. He has been shuffling between the minor and major leagues.

Though Guerrero Jr.’s offensive slump showed no signs of snapping yet, the Blue Jays received another scary update.

Blue Jays starter José Berríos is sidelined

Berríos began the season on the injured list. He has not pitched since September 2024. His elbow injury has followed a confusing path. During Spring Training, his MRI showed Berríos had a stress fracture, which initially shut him down and sent him to the IL. He then resumed throwing and advanced to Triple-A, recording four rehab starts. However, his elbow discomfort returned anew, ultimately leading to a second shutdown.

The Blue Jays manager, John Schneider, reportedly remarked, “Doctors know more than me, you know what I mean? Giving him the green light with that and at the time, him saying, ‘I’m feeling normal,’ gave us the okay to keep going. And then as soon as a doctor says, ‘stop going,’ you stop.”

Berríos second shutdown led him to consult more doctors, like Dr. Keith Meister. It turns out that, alongside the stress fracture, Berríos has some loose bodies and ligament issues in his elbow. According to Schneider, Dr. Meister will operate on Berríos on Wednesday and will decide what kind of procedure José needs once he’s in the operating theatre.

“They’re going to figure that out when they’re actually in there. See what they see when they get in,” noted Schneider.

Once doctors determine the type of procedure Berríos will undergo, they can also know how much playing time he will miss. It can range from months to more than a year, as with Tommy John surgery.

Last season, Berríos went 6-5, posting a 4.17 ERA in 31 outings, holding a 9-5 record.