The Blue Jays’ four-year, $80MM offer to Edwin Encarnacion has been taken off the table, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reports (Twitter link). Though that initial offer — made before Toronto signed Kendrys Morales — no longer stands, the Jays are reportedly still interested in Encarnacion’s services, according to FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman (Twitter link). Encarnacion is still “in play” for the Jays, Rangers and potentially two National League teams, who have called about the slugger with an eye towards using him as an everyday first baseman.
It probably isn’t a surprise that the Jays withdrew their offer in the wake of the Morales signing, as according to Encarnacion’s agent Paul Kinzer earlier this week, the two sides hadn’t talked numbers since that initial offer. Other teams had made offers, though Toronto was “showing Edwin the most love,” in Kinzer’s words. As Rosenthal notes in another tweet, however, the Blue Jays are also still exploring the outfield market, and they could forego re-signing Encarnacion if they land a big-ticket outfielder like Dexter Fowler.
Kinzer has also indicated that he and his client could be looking for five years and as much as a $25MM average annual value, though those comments are now almost a month old. Five years in the $125MM range may have been a high target anyway (MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes projected Encarnacion to land four years and $92MM) and it could be an even longer shot given that Encarnacion’s market seems to have shrunk in recent days. The Red Sox don’t seem to be in hot pursuit given their reluctance to surpass the luxury tax threshold again, while the Astros and Yankees have addressed their DH needs with less-costly one-year deals with Carlos Beltran and Matt Holliday, respectively.
In regards to the Rangers, GM Jon Daniels told reporters (including the Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Jeff Wilson) today that the team was more likely to use internal options like Jurickson Profar, Joey Gallo or Ryan Rua to handle first base than a free agent. This could, of course, be some negotiating gamesmanship on Daniels’ part, as entrusting both the first base and DH spots to those inexperienced players would seem like an odd move for a contender, notwithstanding Profar and Gallo’s blue-chip prospect status.
As I noted in my Encarnacion free agent profile, the Orioles, White Sox, Rockies and Marlins make some sense as speculative fits for the slugger, though it isn’t known whether any of those teams are willing or financially able to make such a big splash. Among NL teams, even Miami is something of a longshot since the Fish are more apt to be looking for a right-handed complement to Justin Bour (who had quite a solid season) rather than an outright replacement. Unless a first base job opens up due to an injury or another trade, there doesn’t seem to be much room for Encarnacion within the National League.
The Marlins seem to make some sense for Chris Carter, especially if they are intent on bolstering the bullpen. Carter would be a cheap but effective platoon partner for Bour.
Then they’ll have two hitters and no pitching.
If the Rangers were to sign EE it would make it much more difficult to afford resigning Darvish and Lucroy. Napoli seems to make a better fit financially.
EE makes very little sense for any team to sign at 4+ years, 17.5+ million annually. Teams are getting much smarter on who to target and the fact is he is going to be 34 in a couple months, is 1 dimensional, and sluggers like him have aged terribly. There is this myth that people throw out there that guys like EE/Davis age well, the fact is bat speed/hand strength takes a big toll on you as you age and because of that sluggers have aged probably the worst of any players.
Of course there will always be exceptions to rules, but EE has already seen periphals drop (it actually started last year). I think the Holiday/Beltran deals are much much better than the team that will overpay for Encarnacion because of the difference in risk and both Holiday/Beltran have considerable upside.
He’s not a one dimensional player
He’s good with the bat, and gives out significant negative value on basepaths/defense
Eh? Under what measurement is Encarnacion considered “significant negative value” defensively?
Fangraphs has him in the top 10 for defense in 1B for all players with 400+ innings at the position. His UZR/150 is quite respectable as well. He’s been playing in the same range as guys like Rizzo, Miggy and Davis.
He only plays 1B/DH which by definition already makes him one of the worst defensive position players in baseball
In terms of speed, sure, but in terms of durability, a 1B is the busiest position player in baseball after the catcher. Fielding percentage is vital — and Encarnacion is among the elite in this category at almost 99.8% plays made. Only a few people are better.
So it says Jays, Rangers, and possibly two NL teams… so which NL teams would need a 1B?
Rockies
Marlins
Mets
Phillies
Nationals
I just don’t really see it for any of them.
But his teams are dwindling. I could see him signing for something smaller than Cespedes last year… something with an opt out after year 1
I wouldn’t do that if I was him, if he can get 4/70 (which I think he will be able too), he should take it. The risk in him taking a 1 year deal is huge.
I’m guessing the Rockies are interested but not at high price point, Phillies maybe a sleeper to get him
Mets could sign him and Trade like Duda to the Red Sox for a SP. Rockies yes. Giants yes and move Belt to LF.
I think the Giants could do that for 4/78 or something and put belt in the outfield and add melancon for about 4/56
As a Giants fan, no. I value defense and would imagine the front office does as well. Moving belt to LF would be bad, making encarnacion the 1B would be even worse.
The giants are or at least were close to an agreement with the giants.
Why would the Mets trade Duda to the Red Sox for a SP? The Mets already have plenty of SP depth, an area of strength for them.
Syn
deGrom
Harvey
Matz
Wheeler
Gsellman
Lugo
They need a CF to platoon/replace Lagares and a top end RP.
As for Duda…he is streaky, but he has 30HR power, is at least avg at 1B, and is still affordable (for his production). I doubt the Red Sox would be willing to trade for full value and it’s make close to zero sense for the Mets. EE is old and on the wrong side of 30. Duda has back concerns, but he is much younger in comparison.
Imagine him hitting behind Cespedes
Or hitting behind someone even better like josh donaldson
Should have taken the $80M when it was on the table…
Cespedes like opt out deal,is the best he can expect IMHO
I don’t see why the Jays pulled their offer though. If he signs for 4/80 you got a steal. The only thing I can think of is they have made a signing that is costing them a draft pick or they have made a trade where they are taking on salary.
Probably because they’ve got a shot at signing him for 3/$60 with the lack of competition for him now.
This is crazy. He’s more productive than Cespedes, yet somehow less sought after. He is worth 4/100. Thought for sure Yankees would sign him. Holliday is a dud move.
In what world is he more productive than Cespedes? He’s only superior to cespedes at the plate, and marginally so. EE brings little defensive/base running value.
He’s also older than Yo
I guess 40 homers and 120 RBIs means nothing then. EE is an average fielder at 1st as his grades are fine, but also isn’t asked to play much. No, he doesn’t steal bases, but neither does Cespedes, and he doesn’t have to. Even so, he isn’t like David Ortiz as you suggest. Cespedes loses value if he continues playing CF as he’s only good in left. Even with EE’s several years of mediocrity at the beginning of his career, he still has a higher career WRC+ than Cespedes. And apart from Cespedes’ magical 2015, EE has had higher WAR every single year. He also has very good plate discipline. At 33 years old in this market, 4/100 is exactly right.
One is a gold glove caliber corner OF, while the other is a DH/1B only and 2 1/2 years older. Not hard to figure out
In 2016, they were basically the same, except Cespedes isn’t a DH/1B, and Cespedes is 3 years younger
Cespedes is worth much more than EE. No comparison
Cespedes is younger, has defensive value, and can run the bases. EE is likely to fall off a cliff shortly.
He is 33 years old. There is absolutely no evidence or reason to the notion that he is about to completely fade into oblivion. EE would take the Yankees offense to a new level, just like A-Rod did.
Let his greedy butt sit.
Agreed.
yup..Rangers dont need him
You sir are an idiot
When has Edwin ever came off as greedy? Are you saying that just because he’s going to get paid a lot since he’s the top bat on the market?
Tough deal for EE, he could be this year’s Trumbo, or Cruz!
The winter meetings haven’t happened yet. It is a bit premature for that. There are still cursory fits with the White Sox, Rangers, O’s, Red Sox, Jays, and several national league clubs, though that is probably unlikely. His max earning potential has probably taken a hit but the 4/80 that was offered should still be obtainable for him at this point. Joey Bats is closer to that Trumbo/Cruz mold because he had a down year by his standards, is 3 years older and also has a QO attached to him.
I wonder if the Cardinals would be one, they need a middle of the lineup hitter and can keep carpenter at third instead of moving to first. The move would obviously require a trade of Peralta or Gyrko though…or move Wong in a trade for a center fielder and have Jed as the everyday 2nd base with Peralta off the bench
All this talk about EE but what about Trumbo?? Is he still available?
Please, please, please, please, please not the Rangers! We already can’t beat them, and I don’t want them adding another big bat to hit 20 of his 35 HRs of 2017 off of our pitching!
Wish Boston would get him for three years. Even if he is less of a player in year three, he’s likely to still be as good of a hitter as Holiday, Beltran are now when they’re signing for one year—the kind of deal Boston was looking for. The sawx don’t need him to play the field much, and his base running will immediately be far superior to that of the player he’d be replacing at DH.
If Boston isn’t going to get a real Ace (porcello doesn’t count, cy or not), they’re going to have to keep out scoring people. And EE just showed he doesn’t shrink in the big moments. We need an impact bat for the playoffs…..
The new MLB players agreement screwed EE and every other FA who rejected the QO big time. If he had known in advance, he probably would have been much better off accepting the QO from Toronto.
Since surrendering a 1st round pick will no longer be a thing after this off-season and a thin market for him now since no one wants to part with a top pick and a monster FA crop looming up after the 2018 season, who would want to be stuck after 2018 with a 37 y/o who is likely to be a shell of himself, with what is likely to be a dog of a contract by that point?
I don’t see how any team makes a 3 or 4 year commitment to him, it would be a poor move at whatever price he thinks he could command. With the new PA essentially imposing a salary cap (92% luxury penalty is akin to a salary cap), teams are going to have to be wiser in allocating their resources.
I see him going back in Toronto on a 1 year/$13-14M, and they can deal him before the deadline if they aren’t in the thick of it. It’s probably the best scenario for everyone right now. I suspect his agent gave him terrible advise that screwed him over when he failed to consider the new PA, and I’d say it was pretty obvious they were going to make a change to the QO system which teams and players didn’t really like. I think Bautista is even more screwed and could have to wait until after the draft pick compensation period expires to sign if Toronto doesn’t bring him back on a reasonable 1 year deal as well. It would be a smart move for them actually, since they had a pretty solid team that got them to the playoffs last year (and, of course, it’s all luck after that).
Sure, every team wants to win, and every GM wants to keep their job… but at the end of the day, I would imagine every GM has really got to ask themselves how hamstrung could the club become with a large commitment to EE and the loss of a 1st rounder? I surely wouldn’t touch him if I was a rival GM.
Born January 83. That would be ages 34,35,36,37 thru 2020
There are so many things wrong with your comment lol. For starters not a chance he signs a one year deal for 13-14m. I do agree his market has vastly changed, but not a chance he signs for less than 3/60 with any other team. If in the very very very small chance he signs a one dear deal to stay with the Jays (to hit the market next year without qualifying offer attached like you said) it would be for at least 20mill, not 14.
Secondly if he resigns with the Jays he would retain his 10/5 rights meaning he would have a full no trade clause and would have to waive it to be traded (highly unlikely).
And finally- I agree the market for Bautista is probably worse, but theres not a chance he chooses to sit out half the season (or a full season) like you mention just to get around draft pick compensation. Some team will offer him 2-3 years (if he doesn’t reup with the jays for one year 17-22m)
You are making a lot of assumptions as to how things work now with the new players agreement. It is a game changer. No one really knows exactly what it will actually wind up doing to the short-term financial aspect of the game quite yet.
If EE’s market never truly develops and no one is willing to give up the pick and sign him to a massive deal like he wants, one of two things happens… he gets a lower offer on a 4 year deal (like 4/70) by a team willing to surrender the pick because his price is lower. Or, he takes a 1-yr deal because he has no other option that won’t potentially cost him tens of millions and Toronto knows it.
As to the 5/10 rules… if the guy is on a 1 year deal and the team isn’t in the playoff hunt, why wouldn’t he accept a trade for a better chance to win and showcase himself in the post-season?