According to MLB Network Radio, Toronto is out of the running to re-sign Encarnacion as talks heat up with other, bigger-spending teams during MLB’s Winter Meetings.
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The Blue Jays offered Encarnacion a four-year, $80 million deal in November, then signed slugger Kendrys Morales after getting rejected by Encarnacion’s camp. Toronto also agreed to a two-year, $12.5 millino deal Monday with first baseman/outfielder Steve Pearce, ESPN first reported.
Encarnacion’s agent, Paul Kinzer, has said his client will probably sign a contract this week and is seeking a deal worth up to $125 million, a steep but worthwhile number for a player who has hit 193 home runs since the start of the 2012 (trailing only Baltimore’s Chris Davis, 197).
Encarnacion batted .263/.357/.529 with 42 homers and an AL-leading 127 RBIs this past season, earning him an All-Star selection for the third time in four seasons.
With the Astros and Blue Jays reportedly out of the running, the slugger’s services appear to be in a bidding war between the Yankees, Rangers and Red Sox.
