The Cleveland Indians have won the race to land Edwin Encarnacion. Jon Heyman reports the Indians have signed Encarnacion to a multi-year deal.
Indians win Encarnacion. 3 plus an option.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 23, 2016
Deal is thought to be worth 20M/yr or thereabout.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 23, 2016
Encarnacion played for the Toronto Blue Jays since 2009. But he's heading back to Ohio, after starting his MLB career with the Cincinnati Reds. The exact terms of the deal are below.
Correction: #Indians' guarantee to Edwin is three years, $65M, including $5M buyout on fourth-year option.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 23, 2016
Source: If #Indians exercise option, Edwin can match original four-year, $80M offer from #BlueJays.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 23, 2016
Encarnacion is one of the best hitters in the majors and this is a big addition for the small-market Indians (who nearly won the World Series this year). Despite being 34 years old, Encarnacion is both young and more productive than the now-departed Mike Napoli. Encarnacion hit .263 last year with 42 home runs and a MLB-best 127 home runs.
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