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TORONTO — On the same day the Toronto Blue Jays turned one outfielder into a thing of the past, they also committed to one as a part of the future.

Hours after sitting at a Rogers Centre podium to explain the Kevin Pillar trade on Tuesday afternoon, Jays general manager Ross Atkins stood in front of the media once again in the evening, this time to point out the reasons why Randal Grichuk is worth the five-year, $52-million extension they had announced a few minutes earlier.

“Obviously, the performance is a key part of it, but we will rest well at night with his effort, his professionalism, his commitment to being great, and being a part of something special is important to him,” Atkins said. “The offence has always stood out. He’s always performed. He’s always hit the ball hard and he’s always hit it far and it usually always goes over the fence at a pretty good rate. In our view, he’s been an above average defender, and those are hard things to piece together.”

The contract essentially tears up the $5 million Grichuk was owed this season, replaced by a $7 million salary and a $5 million signing bonus. In 2020, Grichuk will earn $12 million, which was his final arbitration-eligible year.

It then buys out three free-agent years for $9,333,333 million apiece, bringing the total value to $52 million.

Set to be a free agent following his age-28 campaign in 2020, Grichuk is now locked up through his age-31 season in 2023.

“I love the city, I like the direction the team is going,” Grichuk said. “I see their vision. I see a lot of young, talented players that can be very impactful. They have a vision and I want to be a part of it.”

The aforementioned reasons that Atkins outlined as reasons for the extension are all fair, but the road to becoming a productive everyday player hasn’t been without bumps.

Since being selected in the first round of the 2009 draft by the Los Angeles Angels, the Jays are the third organization to become enamoured with Grichuk’s tools.

There’s no doubt he hits the ball hard, evidenced by his 90.8 mph exit velocity, which placed him 43rd in baseball last season.

Those numbers are fairly consistent throughout his career. When he puts bat on ball, ball tends to go far.

But there are other numbers that have consistently held Grichuk back, including his 29.1 per cent career strikeout rate, and his low walk rate.

In 2018, however, buoyed by a mechanical change in the batter’s box and a second half surge, Grichuk cut the whiffs to 26.1 per cent and hit a career-high 25 home runs in just 124 games.

Post all-star break last year, Grichuk tore the cover off the baseball, running up an .895 OPS, thanks to a .280/.326/.569 slash line with 14 homers in 61 games.

If Grichuk’s finish to 2018 is a sign of things to come, the extension has a chance to be seen as a bargain, especially the three would-be free-agent years for $28 million.

If it was a mirage, then Atkins & Co. may have committed too early, and Grichuk’s 2019 season will give us a good indication of which side this contract will fall on.

Grichuk says the new contract doesn’t add pressure, it actually takes it off.

“I look at it as, now you don’t have to worry about the future,” Grichuk said. “You can go out there and play, let your talent shine, and do what you do and don't even think about it.”​