A saga that produced numerous twists of promise and turns of pessimism over the past calendar year has finally culminated in a titanic pact between a homegrown superstar and a franchise that simply could not afford to lose him: Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

After falling short in bids for Shohei Ohtani and Juan Soto, Toronto spared no expense to keep its franchise player from leaving in free agency.

The news Blue Jays fans had been desperately waiting for -- news that, in their darkest moments, they feared would never come -- at last broke late Sunday night, into early Monday morning: Vladimir Guerrero Jr.