Each day that passes without a deal between the Blue Jays and Edwin Encarnacion makes it less likely that the slugger will sign with Toronto, says Jon Morosi.
The FOX Sports/MLB Network insider joined Dean Blundell and Co. on Sportsnet 590 The Fan Wednesday morning to discuss free agency and whether the Blue Jays will find a way to keep Encarnacion on the roster.
“Now, I still think that they have at least the same built-in home-field advantage on this, because, of course, they’re the only team in baseball that can sign him without giving up a draft pick,” said Morosi, referring to the rule in MLB’s collective bargaining agreement that requires any team signing a player to whom a qualifying offer has been made (as it was to Encarnacion by the Blue Jays) to relinquish a pick at the next draft.
“But I will say this: Every single day that goes by when you don’t have a deal with your original club, usually it means there’s a pretty good increase in the chances that you’re going to go somewhere else. The interest is out there and Edwin, to me, is the best bat, the best pure hitter out there… There’s just really not a better one on the market.”
Morosi pointed to Houston, in particular, as a team that might well see the 33-year-old righty as a fit for their roster.
When asked whether Edwin can expect to receive the five-year, $125-million deal he is rumoured to be seeking, Morosi agreed. “Whether it’s five and $125 million, whether it’s five in the $100 million range, I think that’s eventually where his market’s going to settle in. That doesn’t seem to me to be extraordinarily out of step with what his age indicates, with what his production indicates… Four or five years in the $100-million range I think is a reasonable sum.”
As for how much the Blue Jays will offer Encarnacion, Morosi had this to say: “I don’t know exactly what that number is going to be, but I do believe the Jays have some payroll flexibility. I have said this before: in baseball, all dollars are not created equal. GMs and owners are not going to spend money on middle relievers just to collect five of them, as opposed to one superstar. Edwin has a lot of value to the organization—he has a place potentially on the Level of Excellence.
“It’s unclear to me if basically the payroll’s at a set number or if it’s somewhat negotiable based on the calibre of the player available… Clearly, based on their resources, [the Jays have] great resources, and if they find a player that they like, if they want Edwin back, I think they do have the resources to make that happen.”
