After initial reports suggested the Mariners would be sending the slugger to Tampa Bay in a separate deal, the idea was quickly dismissed by Tampa Bay beat writers. Since there have been no whispers of a deal since Thursday, I think we can consider them to be out, at least for now.
Since Nelson Cruz is still on the market, it will make more sense for teams to continue to pursue him in a deal, since he will cost less money and no prospects will need to change hands. But after he comes off the market, Encarnacion still has value to a big league team, especially if the Mariners eat some money.