What's happened to the market for Edwin Encarnacion?
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NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. - The case of free-agent first baseman Edwin Encarnacion is getting curiouser and curiouser.
His suitors keep disappearing.
*The Astros reached agreement with Carlos Beltran to be an outfielder/DH and currently plan to play Yuli Gurriel at first base.
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*The Yankees reached agreement with Matt Holliday to be their DH and expect to go with younger players at first.
*The Red Sox did not beat the Astros' offer for Beltran and seemingly want a less expensive replacement for David Ortiz.
*The Blue Jays signed Kendrys Morales to be their DH and just addressed their need at first, agreeing to a two-year, $12.5 million deal with Steve Pearce, according to ESPN's Buster Olney.
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Where does that leave Encarnacion?
Good question.
Talk already is circulating at the winter meetings that Encarnacion's agent, Paul Kinzer, overplayed his hand after rejecting the Blue Jays' initial four-year, $80 million offer.
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Kinzer, though, represents a player who over the last five seasons is second to homers in Chris Davis, second in RBIs to Miguel Cabrera and sixth in the majors overall in OPS -- albeit one who turns 34 on Jan. 7.
Encarnacion played 160 games last season and last was on the disabled list in 2014. He is not a clubhouse problem; quite the contrary. His teammates respect him greatly.
So, what gives?
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Part of it is that the market is flooded with hitters. Part of it also is that the Jays made Encarnacion a qualifying offer, attaching him to a first-round pick for all but the top 10 teams of the draft -- and under the new collective-bargaining agreement, teams cannot lose first rounders after this off-season.
New teams could jump in as Encarnacion's market dwindles, or previous suitors could re-emerge. The Astros, for example, still could sign Encarnacion to play first, use Beltran strictly as a DH and move Gurriel to left. The Rockies could divert their attention from Mark Trumbo and push for Encarnacion, a better hitter. The Rangers could grow more interested.
Will Encarnacion land the four- or five-year contract he is seeking? At this point, it seems doubtful. A shorter term at a high average annual value might be more realistic -- and securing even that type of contract won't be easy.