SO LONG, EDWIN
Slugger lands 3-year deal with Cleveland.
Once the Blue Jays rushed to judgment and signed slugger Kendrys Morales to a three-year contract on Nov. 18, one week into the free-agent signing season, things were never going to turn out well for Edwin Encarnacion and his desire to return to Toronto.
When the Jays signed Steve Pearce on Dec. 5, Edwin and his flap-up, home-run trot were as good as gone. Logic and redundancy always trump emotion.
Most local fans are frustrated that Encarnacion has been allowed to leave to the rival Cleveland Indians, the team that beat the Jays in the 2016 ALCS. The Indians have now taken one of the sluggers that was the heart of the Toronto lineup for the past six seasons. The reported agreement, yet to be made official, is for three years and $60 million, plus a fourth option season for $20million with a $5M buyout in 2020, according to Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports.
The Jays’ offer, made right after the end of the World Series, was for four years and $80M guaranteed. It seems certain Encarnacion, his agent Paul Kinzer and the Blue Jays all lose. The Indians win. The Jays set a deadline to accept their offer, but then reportedly extended it several days in order to give the Edwin camp more time, but Kinzer believed that other teams were ready to enter the bidding for more years and more guaranteed dollars. He was dead wrong and the mo- ment passed. The Jays are now a lesser team because of it, and Encarnacion is in Cleveland.
Jays GM Ross Atkins and president Mark Shapiro say that they believe in Morales as the DH, with an occasional start at first base. They believe that because the 33year-old switch-hitter has played most of his career in spacious home ballparks, grand canyons like Kauffman Stadium and Safeco Field, that his power numbers will be significantly better.
Yes, the Jays are paying half of what they would have for Encarnacion in 2017 but, remember, there is no salary cap in baseball. So unless you are someone who just believes that all athletes and most baseball players are making too much money, then the Jays have lost out in this exchange of players. Encarnacion played 160 games in 2016, with 42 homers and a league-leading 127 RBIs.
The hard-working Dominican star, who had improved defensively over the past two years and would have been the Jays’ primary first baseman, was a sure thing. Instead they are hoping for improvement from Morales because of the ballpark, and looking to Pearce and Justin Smoak to platoon at first base.
Encarnacion cemented his place in Jays lore with the walk-off home run against the O’s in the wild-card game, one of the top half-dozen homers in franchise history. He leaves with 239 homers, behind only Carlos Delgado and Jose Bautista.
The Jays clearly had $15 million per year over the next four seasons to offer outfielder Dexter Fowler, making a failed bid before he chose the Cardinals. If they had that much set aside, then they had the money to re-sign Edwin, even if it meant clearing a little payroll, maybe with the trade of Smoak. They had the money, but they had sold his position up the river.
The Jays are not as good as they were a year ago. The Indians are better than they were. The Jays will receive a compensation pick between the first and the second round, while the Indians will forfeit their first-round pick. It does not go to the Jays.
The Jays should have allowed Edwin to explore the market before pulling the rug out from under the deal by signing Morales. Maybe Kinzer should have had a better read of the market. Maybe both sides were fooled by the belief that David Ortiz had the influence with president David Dombrowski to choose his own replacement as DH in Boston. The Jays need to spend that Fowler/Encarnacion money before the next season starts and they need to spend it wisely.
Right now they are big losers in this one.