Yankees trade for Edwin Encarnacion; what it means

The Yankees are in desperate need of reliable starting pitching. So they swung a trade for Edwin Encarnacion and his AL-best 21 home runs? Hopefully, this is just a precursor to a deal that leads to addressing the Bombers’ problem area.

If you can honestly say you saw the Yankees trading for Mariners 1B/DH Edwin Encarnacion, then please email me the winning Mega Millions numbers.

On Saturday night, the Yanks sent 19-year-old right-handed pitching prospect Juan Then, back to Seattle for Encarnacion and his prodigious home run hitting ability.

I say “back,” because Then was dealt to the Yankees from M’s in November 2017 for pitcher Nick Rumbelow.

As broken down by Ken Rosenthal, Encarnacion is owed $15 million this season ($20M team option for 2020 or a $5M buyout). With the Rays still on the hook for $2.5M from last seasons three-team trade, the Yanks will pay about $4M of Edwin’s salary. Now that’s a steal!

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With a .241/.356/.531 slash line, 21 homers, 49 RBIs and 55:41 K:BB ratio across 289 plate appearances, the three-time All-Star will give the Yankee offense an instant boost as they await the return of Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge.

However, what does the lineup look like once it’s back to full strength?

At 36, Encarnacion is still a decent-enough first baseman, as he features a .995 fielding percentage, -4 Rtot and -1 Rdrs in 381.4 innings. In comparison, Luke Voit, who has taken over the everyday role at first for the Yanks, is still growing into the position.

While his dedication to learning the nuances of the position this offseason have shown through, Voit has a .989 fielding percentage, -7 Rtot and -6 Rdrs across 402 innings. Therefore, I disagree wholeheartedly with the people that believe Encarnacion’s arrival to the Bronx makes Voit expendable.

Voit is eight years younger and has yet to reach the pinnacle of his potential. Club controlled through 2024, Aaron Boone will need to find a way to work both in, at least for the remainder of this season.

Even if the two flip-flop between first base and DH, that means Giancarlo Stanton must play left field every day, relegating Brett Garder to a bench role. While I contend that Stanton is an excellent RIGHT fielder, his arm strength and accuracy translates to any outfield spot.

With little to no chance that Judge is moved to left, as to play Stanton in his customary right, it’s up to Stanton to not only stay healthy, but to become a confident defender that doesn’t need to be replaced in the late innings.

For those wondering what happens with DJ LeMahieu, who has seen six games at first base, if Gio Urshela keeps up his quiet June (.179/.244/.359), expect LeMahieu to become the everyday third baseman (18 games there so far), and Urshela either moved to a backup role or perhaps even traded.

Following the announcement of the trade (pending a physical), most of the chatter on Yankee Twitter centered around this deal as a precursor to the club moving talented young slugger Clint Frazier for a starting pitcher. But that’s easier said than done.

While opinions are split as to whom the Yankees should or could try to trade a package of players centered around Frazier for (Marcus Stroman, Madison Bumgarner, Zack Wheeler), it’s understandable that he is trade bait — especially with No. 1 prospect Estevan Florial, a season or two away from reaching the majors.

To make room on New York’s 40-man roster, reliever Jake Barrett was placed on the 60-day IL.

Next. Yankees need to add a starter ASAP. dark

So, while we wait for Cashman to execute his next transaction, we’ll get the chance to watch Encarnacion add even more firepower to a club that’s already hit 110 dingers (8th in MLB). If only homers could be counted on to win playoff games.

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