Young players are getting huge extensions around the Major League Baseball world during this early part of the 2019 season.
That includes young stars for the Boston Red Sox, Atlanta Braves and Colorado Rockies.
We can now add Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Randal Grichuk to the list. According to Shi Davidi of Sportsnet, Toronto has signed the 27-year-old Grichuk to a five-year, $52 million extension. The deal calls for no opt outs and a raise for the remainder of this season.
Grichuk was acquired in a trade from the St. Louis Cardinals back in January of 2018 for pitchers Dominic Leone and Conner Greene. He was not happy about being pushed to a part-time role in St. Louis.
Since then, the outfielder has upped his game in a big way. Last season saw him post a .245 average with 25 homers and 61 RBI. It was Grichuk’s third consecutive season with 20-plus homers.
This move also comes mere hours after Toronto traded outfielder Kevin Pillar to the San Francisco Giants for three players.