DUNEDIN, Fla. - The Toronto Blue Jays locked up Jose Bautista with a US$64-million, five-year extension Thursday, an intriguing contract with a strong element of both risk and reward.

The deal allows the sides to avoid arbitration along with a season full of questions over the 2010 home run king's long-term status while putting in place another franchise cornerstone.

Terms of the deal are $8 million in 2011, with subsequent $14-million salaries in each of 2012-15. The club holds an option of US $14 million for the 2016 season.

"This is one of the biggest days of my life -- for myself and my family," Bautista told a news conference.

"I'm just really excited and ecstatic to wear the Blue Jays uniform, to play in Canada in front of our fans and represent also the Dominican Republic and try to win more championships and bring them to the city of Toronto just like they were in the early '90s," he added.

The US$64-million commitment is by far the largest yet made by general manager Alex Anthopoulos, who last season signed ace lefty Ricky Romero to a $30.1-million, five-year deal and first baseman Adam Lind to an $18-million, four-year deal that could be worth up $38.5 million with three club options.

Anthopoulos called the 30-year-old Bautista "a core building block going forward for this organization."

The Bautista contract is believed to be the fourth-largest in total compensation ever handed out by the franchise, trailing only those given to Vernon Wells ($126 million, seven years), Alex Rios ($69.8 million) and Carlos Delgado ($68 million, four years).

Bautista doesn't have the same kind of track record that trio had when they signed their deals, which is why this agreement will be watched closely by observers throughout the game.

The challenge in coming up with a contract for Bautista was gauging what is fair market value for a player who hit a club-record 54 home runs last year, more than tripling his previous career high of 16.

Eligible for free agency in the fall, Bautista needed enough incentive to forgo the open market, while the Blue Jays needed protection in case his production reverts to previous levels.

With an average annual salary of $13 million or so, both sides apparently found the common ground they were seeking.

Still, Bautista's body of work offers little guidance as to what can reasonably be expected in terms of production over duration of the new deal, which is the risk in the deal.

The reward is that if he continues to blossom, the Blue Jays will have secured his services without having to enter a free agent bidding war.

Word of the reported deal was greeted warmly in the clubhouse.

"Last year was a historic season and the way the fans reacted to him was amazing," second baseman Aaron Hill said of Bautista. "It's really neat for us to see something get done.

"Ownership sees what they have in the player and what he is to us and to the city of Toronto. It's always good to see a player get extended and support his family."

Ace lefty Ricky Romero said Bautista's impact extended well beyond his stats on the field.

"He's an important part of the team," said Romero. "You see what he did last year and he's going to be good for the young kids, you see his work ethic, the way he goes about his business.

"He's a winner."

Bautista and the Blue Jays were scheduled to have an arbitration hearing Monday but asked for a postponement to discuss a long-term deal.

Bautista, who was seeking $10.5 million in arbitration, said he would not discuss a multi-year contract during the season after the hearing took place.

The Blue Jays, who were offering $7.6 million, settled matters before then.

The deal comes a day after first baseman Albert Pujols called off his talks on an extension with the St. Louis Cardinals.

The negotiations played out much differently as well, something Anthopoulos pointed to in refusing to give any updates on the Bautista talks.

"When negotiations are conducted in the media and made public, they can steer off the path a little bit, which is why it's so important for me to keep them quiet," he said.

"I think we're seeing things go on in baseball right now where negotiations are very public and become a big distraction to the team and owners and general managers have to have press conferences and things like that. We're all here to win games and put a good team on the field."