Toronto Blue Jays: No new contract talks with Encarnacion

Edwin Encarnacion’s representative says he will not re-open contract negotiations with the Toronto Blue Jays in the middle of the season.

After a surprisingly sluggish start to the year, the Toronto Blue Jays have surged back, winning 10 of their last 13 contests to come to within two games of the AL East-leading Baltimore Orioles. That’s good news for a team whose window for contention will become much more uncertain at the end of the season.

Two of the Jays’ leaders and biggest stars – Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion – are set to enter free agency this offseason. In fact, based on recent performance, you can add Michael Saunders to that group as well. This will require some tough decisions on the part of the typically tight-budgeted Toronto. While the Jays have expressed their desire to keep their players, Encarnacion’s agent has reiterated that his client will not engage in contract discussions in the middle of the season.

Agent Paul Kinzer told Jon Heyman of Today’s Knuckleball, “Once the season started, we were not going to negotiate. He thought it was a distraction last time. He’s the most relaxed I’ve ever seen him. Why mess with the guy? He’s content. He’s happy.”

The “last time” Kinzer refers to is 2012, when Encarnacion inked a three-year, $27 million extension with Toronto in July of that year. Prior to sealing the deal, plenty of trade rumors and speculation swirled around the coveted power hitter. That presumably bothered Encarnacion, who would prefer not to replicate the effect this season in the middle of a postseason chase.

And as far as not messing with Encarnacion’s mojo – it’s hard to argue with that either. Like his team as a whole, the slugger stumbled a bit out of the gate. He was hitting .233 at the close of action on June 10. Since then, however, he has been one of the hottest hitters in baseball, slashing .355/.470/.774 with 10 home runs and 32 RBI (in just 26 games).

The torrid stretch has lifted Encarnacion’s overall triple-slash to .267/.358/.541. He has swatted 23 homers, good for fourth in MLB, and his 80 RBI currently lead all major leaguers. The rapid-fire production was enough to earn him his third All-Star appearance this year.

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If Encarnacion maintains his stellar form at the plate, it should mean good things not only for the Jays’ postseason chances, but for his bank account as well. Over the last several years, Encarnacion has been one of the more potent bats in the league. Between 2011 and 2015, he posted a .274/.364/.531 while averaging 34 home runs and 96 RBI per season. Toronto will undoubtedly have competition in retaining his services. There has already been some talk that the Red Sox could view him as a natural successor to David Ortiz at DH.

The main factor working against Encarnacion is age. Although he hasn’t yet demonstrated any obvious signs of decline, he will still be 34 years old at the start of next season. Teams, the Blue Jays included, will likely be wary of handing him a long-term contract. The Jays supposedly offered Encarnacion a one-year deal followed by a two-year pact during the offseason, but they denied those reports according to Heyman.

Toronto will almost surely need to go beyond two years to keep Encarnacion, and this season’s $10 million salary will likely have to be at least doubled as well. Team president Mark Shapiro is going to have a real balancing act on his hands this winter, and the idea of re-signing both Encarnacion and Bautista is looking increasingly precarious. Due to turn 36 in October, Bautista brings his own age and contract length concerns to the table.

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Encarnacion has publicly expressed his desire to stay with the Jays, so the team will have to hope that something can eventually be worked out. In the meantime, they’ll be more than content to continue watching him knock the cover off the ball as they seek another deep playoff run.

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