Rather than staring at the 52M number I look at it as:
2019: Age 27 for $7,000,000
2020: Age 28 for $12,000000
2021: Age 29 for $9,333,333
2022: Age 30 for $9,333,333
2023: Age 31 for $9,333,333
It’s pretty reasonable, with some upside to be a bargain. He really just has to be worth 1-1.5 fWAR to justify the contract. Entering his prime, that shouldn’t be too big of an issue granted he stays somewhat healthy. And if by 2022 he really doesn’t fit our roster, it’s not impossible to move 9.3M/2 year deal somewhere else.
We have almost no contracts committed after 2020, this by no means cripple our payroll whatsoever. And maybe I’m optimistic but I see Grichuk as a 3+ WAR if he puts it all together, which would make this a steal.