There are no signs baseball's contract extension craze is about to slow down. Ronald Acuna (eight years, $100 million) and German Marquez (five years, $43 million) both signed long-term deals earlier Tuesday. Randal Grichuk made it a hat trick.
Tuesday night the Toronto Blue Jays announced they signed Grichuk, an outfielder, to a five-year extension that begins immediately. Shi David of Sportsnet has the contract details:
Grichuk, 27, was set to earn $5 million in 2019 and the new contract reworks his salary to $7 million this year and adds a $5-million signing bonus.
Next year he'll earn $12 million followed by salaries of $9,333,333 in 2021-23. There are no club options or player opt-outs.
Grichuk, 27, was due to become a free agent following the 2020 season. The new contract covers his final two arbitration years and three free agent years, and ties him to Toronto through his age-31 season.
Originally acquired from the Cardinals last offseason, Grichuk hit .245/.301/.502 with 25 home runs in 2018. He's a career .247/.297/.490 hitter who's averaged 28 home runs per 162 games. Given the contract, the Blue Jays clearly believe Grichuk has another level to his game as he enters what should be his prime years. The deal also comes on the same day Toronto traded outfielder Kevin Pillar to the Giants in a four-player deal.
Grichuk and Lourdes Gurriel are the only Blue Jays players under contract beyond 2019. Gurriel is owed $19.4 million from 2020-23. At this point it seems more likely Toronto will trade righties Marcus Stroman and Aaron Sanchez rather than sign them long-term. Both are two years from free agency.
Twenty-six players have signed extensions since January 1, including Grichuk.
