TORONTO -- The Blue Jays announced agreements with 11 of their 12 arbitration-eligible players, with one glaring absence.

Toronto did not reach a deal with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. ahead of Thursday¡¯s 8 p.m. ET deadline. The All-Star first baseman, who is on his second-to-last year of arbitration eligibility, may still negotiate a contract with the Blue Jays before a hearing is required.

Jordan Romano, Daulton Varsho and Danny Jansen headlined the list of players who avoided arbitration:

? RHP Jordan Romano: $7.75 million
? OF Daulton Varsho: $5.65 million
? C Danny Jansen: $5.2 million
? INF Cavan Biggio: $4.21 million
? LHP Tim Mayza: $3.5 million
? C Alejandro Kirk: $2.8 million
? RHP Erik Swanson: $2.75 million
? INF Santiago Espinal: $2.725 million
? RHP Trevor Richards: $2.15 million
? LHP G¨¦nesis Cabrera: $1,512,500
? RHP Nate Pearson: $800,000

The road from here to an arbitration hearing is a long one, so the lack of a deal between the Blue Jays and Guerrero isn¡¯t necessarily alarming. Last year, Toronto found itself in a similar situation with star shortstop Bo Bichette before signing him to a three-year extension that bought out his remaining arb years nearly one month later.

According to Cot¡¯s Baseball Contracts, Guerrero is projected to earn $21 million this year -- a substantial raise from the $14.5 million he made in 2023.

Signing the 24-year-old to a long-term extension has been a well-discussed priority for the front office, especially as the Blue Jays¡¯ young core continues to get more expensive. After making a strong push for Shohei Ohtani, the club has yet to make a big splash this offseason.

¡°I think [president and CEO] Mark [Shapiro] has done an incredible job of working with ownership to ensure that we are nimble, and it has only increased our ability to present opportunities,¡± general manager Ross Atkins said in November. ¡°We've always had a great deal of support.¡±

Two seasons removed from his American League MVP runner-up performance, Guerrero saw a dip in production in 2022 and '23. Last season, he batted .264 with a .789 OPS, 26 home runs and 91 RBIs -- the type of season that only falls in the ¡°lackluster¡± category if you¡¯re talking about one of baseball¡¯s great talents.

¡°Vladdy has been so successful,¡± said Atkins. ¡°The interesting thing about him in his batted-ball data, how hard he¡¯s hitting the ball and how often, there are still some really positive things about Vladdy and last year¡¯s performance. There¡¯s positive things about Vladdy¡¯s performance, just overarching. They just didn't meet his expectations for the year.¡±

Should Guerrero and the Blue Jays fail to reach an agreement, an arbitration hearing will follow, with both parties presenting their cases to a panel that will select the salary put forth by either the club or the player.