Blue Jays: Don’t Expect Quick Resolution With Edwin Encarnacion
By Paul Taylor
With the Blue Jays’ exclusive window to negotiate with Edwin Encarnacion set to end on Monday, what will they do in respect of the three-time All-Star?
Things are about to get extremely interesting between the Toronto Blue Jays and Edwin Encarnacion. The Blue Jays’ exclusive five-day window to negotiate with Encarnacion is about to end, at which point other teams will be allowed to make offers.
Interestingly though, with Monday’s deadline upon us, Mark Shapiro and Ross Atkins don’t appear to be feeling any urgency to make their move. At least that’s the vibe, according to Steve Simmons.
Now understandably, the mere mention of the Toronto Sun columnist draws the ire of a lot of local sports fans. However, his comments are worth listening to, just because — if nothing else — he has spoken to Encarnacion’s agent, Paul Kinzer.
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As per Simmons’ Saturday column, Kinzer said: “We haven’t gotten into anything serious yet.
“We’re talking. There’s nothing imminent. That’s all I can tell you right now. We’re continuing to talk.”
Kinzer also gave the impression he doesn’t expect a quick resolution to the contract situation. Maybe that’s because he’s heard through the grapevine what the Blue Jays intend to do.
As per MLB Network Insider Jon Heyman, he says the Blue Jays will issue a $17.22 million qualifying offer to Encarncion by Monday’s 5 pm ET deadline. At this point, the three-time All-Star will then have seven days to make a decision.
All indications are that Encarnacion will decline the offer, as he looks for a long-term, big payday, which — quite frankly — he deserves. At that point, the Blue Jays will be guaranteed a top draft pick, if the home run slugger signs elsewhere.
In reality, this is all part of the process that comes with negotiations in professional sports. The question is, given the Blue Jays’ insistence that they want the 33-year old back, how far are they willing to go?
It’s possible we may have a better idea in the coming days, with the opening of the general managers meetings on Monday, in Phoenix. However, it’s worth noting the November get-together is usually low-key, at least compared to the annual winter meetings in December.
From Encarnacion’s perspective, he has always said he wants to remain in Toronto, but you still have to wonder how much money he would accept to make this happen? By the same token, what will Shapiro and Atkins be prepared to offer?
Consider that the Blue Jays already have $103.3 million guaranteed for eight players in 2017. Now factor in that the payroll for this past season was around $150 million, and you can already see the potential issues with finding a common middle ground.
One thing we do know is other teams will be more than willing to splash the cash for Encarnacion, with the New York Yankees and Boston Red Rox probably leading the way. It will be bad enough if the 2016 RBI leader goes elsewhere, but if he ends up joining another AL East team, Simmons may well have some competition when it comes to incurring the wrath of Toronto sports fans.
Next: Jose Bautista smart to reject qualifying offer
Now it’s your turn – put on your GM hat and tell us what you would do about Encarnacion? Would you pay whatever he wants, or prefer not to overextend yourself to retain him? Let us know in the comments section below.