Vladimir Guerrero Jr. sat in the Blue Jays dugout and watched it all happen. Will Smith hit a home run in the 11th inning that flew into the stands at Rogers Centre. That was the end of Toronto’s World Series hopes. The Dodgers celebrated their 5-4 win while Guerrero Jr. stood still, feeling the weight of the whole postseason on his shoulders.

But Guerrero Jr. moved on hours after the heartbreak. The MVP of the American League Championship Series got on a private jet with his family and flew to Cancun to start his offseason. He posted a video of himself traveling on Instagram with El Poeta Callejero’s “Tigre Decente” playing in the background. His caption had both thanks and self-aware humor.

“Thank you, Papa God, for everything,” he wrote, and then he made a joke about “Cancún, Mexico” to acknowledge the sudden end of Toronto’s season.

The post showed a player dealing with disappointment while finding comfort in his faith and family. Guerrero Jr. held his American League Championship Series MVP trophy in the video. It was a sign of his own greatness, but it couldn’t hide the heartbreak of everyone else.

Vladdy did everything Toronto asked of him during the 2025 postseason, but the final result was still out of his hands.

Guerrero Jr. was the first player in MLB history to get at least 15 hits, 15 runs batted in, and 15 runs scored in a single postseason. He ended October with 8 home runs, 18 runs scored, 15 RBIs, and 29 hits, making him one of the best Dominican players in the playoffs.

The historic achievement didn’t bring much comfort right away, but it did show that Guerrero Jr. was a postseason force who played better when the stakes were highest.

Guerrero Jr. was relaxing in Cancun while the Toronto Blue Jays had to make tough decisions about their roster.

Shane Bieber enters free agency after the Blue Jays’ World Series loss

Shane Bieber, the right-handed pitcher who gave up Will Smith’s devastating 11th-inning home run in Game 7, became a free agent on Sunday along with a number of his Toronto teammates. That two-out home run in the 5-4 loss ended Toronto’s chances of winning the championship in 2025. Now, Bieber is looking for his next chance in a market that is hard to predict.

It’s hard to figure out how much Bieber is worth.

He played well in the playoffs and helped his team win Game 4 of the World Series, but his future is still up in the air. After 16 months of rehab after Tommy John surgery, he had a 3.57 ERA in seven regular-season starts. Matthew Pouliot of NBC Sports made an estimate of “four years, $112 million” for teams viewing him as “an above-average starter going forward.”

Pouliot acknowledged Bieber’s comeback “has been a great success, as he’s shown his best velocity since 2021.” Even though his skills aren’t as good as they were when he won the Cy Young Award in 2020.

The 31-year-old has a 3.24 ERA, 66 career wins, and 995 strikeouts. Teams argue over whether they are getting a top pitcher or a dependable third starter. Spotrac thinks the market will be worth $145 million in six years, while Jim Bowden thinks it will be worth $75 million in three years.

Meanwhile, Bieber expects to make about $25 million a year.

Now, the question isn’t how much he wants; it’s whether teams are willing to stick with a pitcher who’s trying to rebuild his reputation.