It was around this time a year ago when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. saw the future. And when the Toronto Blue Jays clinched a playoff spot months later, Guerrero swore he’d seen it coming from the jump.

“In spring training,” Guerrero said. “The first day. Everybody was together. Everybody was laughing.”

Maybe it was a bit of revisionist history for the sake of a good story. Perhaps Guerrero, who weeks later committed to the Jays for 14 years, is just an eternal optimist. But, as Toronto’s hitters slid on their matte blue helmets and gathered on back fields once more, it was time for Guerrero to look into his crystal ball again.

What did he see?

“The same thing,” Guerrero said through an interpreter. “I think it’s going to be more fun. I’m actually happier than last year, for whatever reason.”

George Springer earned rounds of laughter by running after every foul ball during simulated at-bats on a back field. His conditioning, he yelled each time, was done for the day. Guerrero raised both hands in celebration of a well-taken pitch during Kazuma Okamoto’s first hack. The Japanese infielder smiled, showing off his few words of Spanish to the franchise first baseman.

George is back and so are his dance moves 🤣 pic.twitter.com/Q0UnP8VfUB

— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) February 16, 2026

The same jovial energy that inspired Guerrero’s 2025 premonition returned instantly with Toronto’s first full-squad workout. Springer jokingly declared Eric Lauer “public enemy No. 1” after a pitch drifted in and clipped Daulton Varsho on the back. Guerrero smirked after he crushed a pitch to left field. In the middle months of Toronto’s 2025 season, that undeniable energy carried the Jays to an American League East division title. The vibes rarely wavered through to November.

But it wasn’t 10 months of smooth sailing. Toronto’s first month last season can be easy to forget. On May 1, the Jays sat under .500 and third in the division. The team, Kevin Gausman said at the time, hadn’t found an identity. When the wins started stacking up, the identity coalesced, not the other way around. Victories can earn the same clubhouse bliss this year.

No player is more essential to Toronto’s winning ways than Guerrero, who is entering the first season of his $500 million extension. Career seasons from Springer and Addison Barger helped Toronto’s offence rank fourth in wRC+ last year. But, especially with the departure of Bo Bichette, Guerrero is still the lineup rock.

“Vladdy has always been the guy in his whole time here,” manager John Schneider said. “When he came up, it was him, Bo and Cavan (Biggio), the sons of big leaguers. When each guy kind of departs, I think it’s cool that Vlad has been the one that’s here, the one that we’re building around.”

Guerrero “only” hit 23 home runs last year and “only” posted an .848 OPS (19th among qualified hitters). But, as the 26-year-old entered the most important games of his life, Guerrero elevated his performance. In an 18-game postseason run, he nearly hit .400 and posted a 72-homer pace against the game’s best pitching. The more pressure he felt, Guerrero said, the better he felt.

Now, with expectations to somehow follow up on the 2025 campaign and his extension kicking in, that pressure will fall on Guerrero from Day 1. It won’t wait for October. Guerrero doesn’t have to hit 70 homers or carry the offence every game of the season. The Jays, with the fourth-highest projected payroll in baseball, have built a deep roster with a strong rotation and plenty of reliable hitters around their star slugger. But there’s one guy opposing teams fear most.

“This has been his team,” Schneider said. “And it’s going to continue to be his team.”

If Guerrero delivers, the wins will surely arrive. If the wins return, the good vibes will follow. That’s what it will take for Guerrero’s latest premonition to be proven true.