TORONTO -- The Blue Jays have agreed to 2025 deals with all of their arbitration eligible players ¡­ including Vladimir Guerrero Jr..

Guerrero and the Blue Jays have agreed to a $28.5 million salary for 2025, his final year of club control with free agency looming. It will be the third-highest salary paid to an arbitration-eligible player in league history, behind only Juan Soto in ¡®24 ($31 million) and Shohei Ohtani the year prior ($30 million).

A year ago, Guerrero and the Blue Jays went to arbitration and Guerrero won, landing a $19.9 million salary over the $18.05 million number submitted by the Blue Jays. There are still miles to go for Guerrero and the Blue Jays to agree on what a potential extension could look like beyond this season, but this agreement puts to rest any discussion about his 2025 salary.

Here are some contract notes on all seven of the players the Blue Jays agreed to contracts with prior to Thursday¡¯s deadline:

Vladimir Guerrero Jr.: $28.5 million

The day Spring Training opens in Dunedin, Fla., question No. 1 is the future of Guerrero. Ross Atkins and the front office have continued to say that they¡¯d like to keep Guerrero around, but of course they do. It¡¯s about finding a number that works for both sides, and to this point, that hasn¡¯t been close. For another example of how this could all play out, remember Aaron Judge, who waded into free agency as one of the biggest names the market had seen in years, but eventually returned to his original club, the Yankees.

OF Daulton Varsho: $8.2 million

Varsho is under club control for two more seasons, making him an interesting extension candidate in his own right. He¡¯s established himself as one of the game¡¯s truly elite defenders and finally won a Gold Glove Award in 2024, but his shoulder is a question mark entering spring after he underwent surgery at the end of the season. If this does stretch into '25, it shouldn¡¯t be significant.

C Alejandro Kirk: $4.6 million

Kirk is in the same boat as Varsho, entering his final two years of club control. No longer with Danny Jansen alongside him to form a tandem, it looks like the Blue Jays are going to see how much Kirk can handle in 2024. His name has already come up unprompted from multiple people within the organization for the work he¡¯s done to get his body in better shape this winter.

RHP Alek Manoah: $2.2 million

Manoah is still working his way back from Tommy John surgery, but could return by the latter half of the season. Whether that¡¯s to help a postseason push or just to get his feet back on the ground as the season winds down remains to be seen, but Manoah will fully reset in time for 2026, when he¡¯ll have every opportunity to regain a spot in the rotation.

3B Ernie Clement: $1.975 million

This is a credit to Clement, who established himself in the big leagues this season and gets his first arbitration-year bump. Clement earned a Gold Glove Award nomination at third base in 2024 and put up a .692 OPS with plenty of contact. It¡¯s likely he moves around more in ¡®25, but he¡¯s gone from the fringes of the roster to an important piece of the Blue Jays.

RHP Nick Sandlin: $1.63 million

The new guy in town, Sandlin came over from the Guardians in the Andr¨¦s Gim¨¦nez deal and should have an opportunity to lock down a job in the Blue Jays¡¯ bullpen immediately. Sandlin has been durable and posted 3.75 ERAs in back-to-back seasons, so the Blue Jays will try to take his excellent splitter and build from there.

RHP Zach Pop: $900,000

Pop was hit hard in 2024, posting a 5.59 ERA over 48 1/3 innings. The Blue Jays want to get Pop back to a point where he¡¯s missing more bats, so he¡¯ll have some time in Spring Training to prove that he belongs back in the bullpen competition.