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Goodbye, Edwin: Encarnacion Signs with Cleveland

We tried to believe. We shouted for Rogers to “Pay the Man,” and hoped against all odds that the booming attendance and television numbers would provide enough payroll space. Even when the writing was on the wall with the Kendrys Morales signing, some of us convinced ourselves it was ok; Edwin can play first base! Paul Kinzer certainly helped fan the flames of hope with his recent report that the Jays were “showing Edwin the most love.” Well, hope can only take us so far. After signing Steve Pearce and many “hints” from Ross Atkins that Encarnacion would not be back, it is finally official.

Edwin Encarnacion is no longer a member of the Toronto Blue Jays.

It’s not a lot of years, so it’s going to hurt. The Jays should have been in there and weren’t. Edwin Encarnacion is a star, and now he’s going to be one for the Indians.

It can be tough to put into words what players like Encarnacion (and the yet-to-sign Jose Bautista) mean to a franchise. Over the last five years, we have watched him hit, and hit, and hit. Since 2012, Edwin Encarnacion owns a line of .272/.367/.544 with 193 home runs, 550 RBI and 145 doubles. Heck, he even threw in 27 stolen bases for good measure. The man has been an offensive machine.

It’s been more than that, though. When he first arrived as a throw-in as part of the Scott Rolen trade who couldn’t really play third base, nobody was thinking of Edwin Encarnacion as a long term fixture in this city. But along the way, he became one of our guys. We watched him blossom into a man with who hit so many home runs that he developed a unique trot. He became the man we counted on to produce when the game was on the line. Think of some of the most memorable events of the last few years. How many involved Edwin Encarnacion?

There were countless times when Edwin was the star for this team, but three games stick out specifically. The first came in 2015 when he caused hats to rain down from the stands, debuting a uniquely Canadian way to celebrate a three home run game at home (Donaldson matched it this year).

Then later in the year we saw him send a ball soaring into the night against Cole Hamels in the ALDS. It gave us hope in a game that was in doubt. That game-tying home run set the stage for the famous Bat Flip and all the drama that unfolded in the seventh inning of Game 5.

And most recently, in what felt like his crescendo as a Blue Jay, Edwin crushed a ball against Ubaldo Jimenez to propel the Blue Jays through the Wild Card and into an ALDS rematch against the hated Rangers. He raised his arms in triumph, and we were right there with him.

It was perfect.

In fact, it felt complete. If Encarnacion was going to leave, at least he gave us that moment. That feeling. He allowed us to imagine that we could make peace with seeing him in another uniform, knowing we would remember how happy he made us in Blue Jays blue. Now we’re going to put that theory to the test.

Of course, that’s not to say it has always been rosy. Fans used to call him “E5” derisively to mock his defensive troublse, he was waived in 2011, and there’s the ugliness of his pending lawsuit, which should not be ignored.

But on the ball field, Edwin Encarnacion is as good as they come. He’s not going to New York or Boston, which should at least be of some comfort, but he will now anchor the middle of what should be a very potent Cleveland lineup. Flanked in the order by elite hitters Francisco Lindor, Jason Kipnis, and Carlos Santana, Edwin should continue to rack up the counting stats and while he walks the parrot around Cleveland. With this signing, a very good opponent just got much better, which means the Blue Jays road to the post season also became a lot tougher.

Reading that is going anger a lot of people, and the sting could last for a good, long while, but as Jenn Smith recently so rightly opined, the cure for all of this is winning. That means Ross Atkins and Mark Shapiro need to get to work. The Morales signing was a start, but he doesn’t come close to replacing the void left by Encarnacion’s production, let alone Bautista and Saunders. There’s nobody left out there who can do it alone, so the club will have to do it by committee. There are still lineup holes at first base (sort of – don’t try to tell me that Justin Smoak is a viable strong side of a platoon with Pearce), left field, and right field. If the front office folk can find meaningful upgrades at each spot, they can mitigate the loss of the superstar first baseman/DH. If not, this team will once again be back in the “if everything breaks right” mode, which nobody wants.

It’s time to step up, Atkins and Shapiro. We’ve gotten used to winning, and we’re not ready to stop now.

Lead Photo: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

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2 comments on “Goodbye, Edwin: Encarnacion Signs with Cleveland”

Kongos

Shatkins are incapable of fixing the mess they created. And I’m sure there’s worse to come.

Still think they’ll be in charge of the Jays at the end of spring training?

magua10

Edwin stated he wanted to stay in Toronto.
The Jays offered $80 million over 4 years.
due to either: i) an incompetent agent; or a lot of greed on Edwin’s part, that offer fell by the wayside. Declined by Edwin…that cannot be blamed on the agent. [though he ought to be fired now].
The management crew [as you call them Shatkins] are brighter than you think.

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