Sources: Mariners trade Encarnacion to Yankees

WOW!!! WHY???

www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/edwin-encarnacion-trade-grades-yankees-pile-on-power-mariners-add-long-term-asset/ar-AACWCKn

Yankees: B-

The first question that comes to mind: How many DHs do the Yankees need? Giancarlo Stanton is nearing a return from the injured list and Aaron Judge may be back shortly after Stanton is activated. Those guys figure to need a lot of at-bats in the role as manager Aaron Boone tries to keep his top four outfielders healthy and sharp. That doesn't even include DH days for catcher Gary Sanchez.

Encarnacion, 36, started 45 games at first base for the M's, his most at the position since 2016, but Luke Voit is entrenched there and DJ LeMahieu has played it in his role as a super utilityman. There would seem to be little need for Encarnacion to spell Voit when LeMahieu, a better fielder who is also carrying an .804 OPS, is already available one or two days a week.

One other issue: Encarnacion bats right-handed. The Yanks, on paper at least, could use a left-handed stick for the corner infield spots. Only Brett Gardner, Aaron Hicks, Didi Gregorius and Mike Tauchman swing from the left side (and Tauchman is a candidate to be removed from the roster to make room for Encarnacion). Kendrys Morales was a lefty first base/DH option, but he failed to hit before going on the injured list this week with a calf strain. There's a lot of time to address that area, but right now the lineup leans far to the right.

Encarnacion won't come cheaply, either, even if the Mariners kick in half of the $15 million or so in guaranteed money still owed to Encarnacion, as The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal reported. Much of the Mariners' contribution might, in fact, come from the Rays, who reportedly still owe the M's $2.5 million of the $5 million they agreed to take on as part of the aforementioned three-team trade.

And, as Baseball Twitter gently pointed out Saturday night, Encarnacion doesn't pitch. The Yankees need pitching. That's another move, involving other players, for another day.

The Yankees probably aren't worrying about any of those things right now because they just rented a player who was leading the American League with 21 home runs and had a .241/.356/.531 slash line entering Saturday's games.  READ MORE...

Jun 16, 2019 9:23:23 GMT -5 domeplease said:

WOW!!! WHY???

www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/edwin-encarnacion-trade-grades-yankees-pile-on-power-mariners-add-long-term-asset/ar-AACWCKn

Yankees: B-

The first question that comes to mind: How many DHs do the Yankees need? Giancarlo Stanton is nearing a return from the injured list and Aaron Judge may be back shortly after Stanton is activated. Those guys figure to need a lot of at-bats in the role as manager Aaron Boone tries to keep his top four outfielders healthy and sharp. That doesn't even include DH days for catcher Gary Sanchez.

Encarnacion, 36, started 45 games at first base for the M's, his most at the position since 2016, but Luke Voit is entrenched there and DJ LeMahieu has played it in his role as a super utilityman. There would seem to be little need for Encarnacion to spell Voit when LeMahieu, a better fielder who is also carrying an .804 OPS, is already available one or two days a week.

One other issue: Encarnacion bats right-handed. The Yanks, on paper at least, could use a left-handed stick for the corner infield spots. Only Brett Gardner, Aaron Hicks, Didi Gregorius and Mike Tauchman swing from the left side (and Tauchman is a candidate to be removed from the roster to make room for Encarnacion). Kendrys Morales was a lefty first base/DH option, but he failed to hit before going on the injured list this week with a calf strain. There's a lot of time to address that area, but right now the lineup leans far to the right.

Encarnacion won't come cheaply, either, even if the Mariners kick in half of the $15 million or so in guaranteed money still owed to Encarnacion, as The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal reported. Much of the Mariners' contribution might, in fact, come from the Rays, who reportedly still owe the M's $2.5 million of the $5 million they agreed to take on as part of the aforementioned three-team trade.

And, as Baseball Twitter gently pointed out Saturday night, Encarnacion doesn't pitch. The Yankees need pitching. That's another move, involving other players, for another day.

The Yankees probably aren't worrying about any of those things right now because they just rented a player who was leading the American League with 21 home runs and had a .241/.356/.531 slash line entering Saturday's games.  READ MORE...

bleacherreport.com/articles/2840837-edwin-encarnacion-is-mlbs-most-underappreciated-power-hitter-of-a-generation?utm_source=cnn.com&utm_campaign=editorial&utm_medium=referral

Edwin Encarnacion can hit a baseball.

He's proved that by smashing 32 or more home runs in every completed season since 2012. This year, at age 36, he's cleared the fence an American League-leading 21 times in 65 games for the Seattle Mariners, which puts him on pace for roughly 48 homers.

That's...let's do the math...a lot. It'd also be a career high.

Over the winter, Encarnacion was dealt from the Cleveland Indians to the Mariners in a three-team swap that involved the Tampa Bay Rays and was largely about dumping salary for the Tribe. Before that, he spent significant time with the Cincinnati Reds and Toronto Blue Jays.

Wherever he's gone, he's raked.

Among active players, his 401 dingers leave him behind only the Los Angeles Angels' Albert Pujols (644 home runs) and the Detroit Tigers' Miguel Cabrera (468 home runs).

Between 2012 and Wednesday, he's hit an MLB-leading 284 home runs, with Nelson Cruz (265) and Mike Trout (253) checking in at Nos. 2 and 3, respectively. During the same stretch, he leads both leagues with 813 RBI. Cruz is second with 716. Pujols is fourth (688), Cabrera is fifth (678) and Trout is sixth (676).

Pujols. Cabrera. Trout. Those are Hall of Fame candidates, if not Cooperstown shoo-ins. Encarnacion is squarely in their midst, even if he was grossly underrated as far back as 2014 and is rarely—if ever—name-dropped as their worthy peer.

READ MORE...