No Team Is Willing To Go Even Three Years, $60 Million For Edwin Encarnacion
There aren’t many things that shock me anymore, but the way that Edwin Encarnacion’s market has imploded on itself has been shocking to say the least.
Earlier this week, I tried to make sense of Encarnacion’s market by breaking down all of the potential suitors at the start of the offseason, and why they’re either no longer in the running, or why their interest may have waned along the way. You had the Yankees, Astros, Red Sox, Blue Jays, Rangers and Indians all on the list of potential landing spots for Encarnacion, but just about a month into the offseason, we’re down to just one team, assuming there isn’t a mystery team, and that team is the Cleveland Indians.
The Astros signed Carlos Beltran, the Yankees signed Matt Holliday, the Blue Jays signed Kendrys Morales and Steve Pearce, the Red Sox signed Mitch Moreland, and according to Bob Nightengale, the Rangers “simply don’t have the money to add slugger Edwin Encarnacion.” Encarnacion to Cleveland seems like the only fit that he has left at this point, but at what cost?
Exactly one month ago today, we learned that Encarnacion was in search of a five-year deal worth $125 million. Two weeks after that, we found out that Encarnacion rejected a four-year, $80 million offer from the Blue Jays, and about two weeks later, we get this report that there isn’t even one team willing to go $60 million over three years for Encarnacion. That’s insane. The man who, since the start of 2012, trails only Chris Davis (197) for the major league lead in home runs (193), can’t even create a bidding war as a free agent. Sad!