Is the Edwing headed south this winter?
Edwin Encarnacion still is available on the free-agent market, and the first baseman/designated hitter could draw interest from several potential suitors. But according to FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal, other teams think the Texas Rangers will be the ones to come out on top.
“The pending free agency of right-hander Yu Darvish is one reason that rival clubs believe that the Rangers ultimately will step up for Edwin Encarnacion — they need to put together their best possible club in Darvish’s walk year,” Rosenthal wrote in a column Tuesday.
Darvish will be a free agent after the 2017 season, and the Rangers already have a spotty rotation, so it makes sense for them to secure another player who would be part of an already talented core. Plus, with first baseman Mitch Moreland on the Boston Red Sox now, Texas likely would play Jurickson Profar at first and Joey Gallo at DH. Profar has just 184 major league games under his belt over parts of three seasons, and Gallo has just 53 games over two.
Encarnacion certainly would fill a need for the Rangers because even with a .263 average in 2016, the 33-year-old still put up 42 home runs, 127 RBIs and a .529 slugging percentage.
That said, considering the beef the Rangers have had with Encarnacion’s former Toronto Blue Jays over the past two seasons, it would be an interesting move, to say the least.
Thumbnail photo via Kevin Jairaj/USA TODAY Sports Images
