St. Louis Cardinals: Five Corner Infield Options
By Jason Evans
1B – Edwin Encarnacion
The Cardinals have already lost their first round pick by signing Fowler. To quote Chicago White Sox announcer Ken Harrelson, “Don’t stop now, boys.” They may as well sacrifice their second round pick at this point and sign someone like Edwin Encarnacion to play first.
Edwin turns 34 in January and has been one of the most consistent power bats in the game over the past few seasons. Take a look at the numbers over the last three seasons:
2014: .268 BA, .901 OPS, 152 OPS+, 34 homers, 98 RBI
2015: .277 BA, .929 OPS, 148 OPS+, 39 homers, 111 RBI
2016: .263 BA, .886 OPS, 133 OPS+, 42 homers, 127 RBI (led AL)
Encarnacion would give the Cardinals their best bat since Pujols left. With the market drying up for him, he could take a shorter deal and re-enter the market like Fowler did. This would help the Cardinals as well so they aren’t locked into him if he starts to break down physically.
Adding Fowler and Encarnacion to a lineup with Carpenter and Gyorko and Yadier Molina would certainly keep the Cardinals in the playoff hunt.