Edwin Encarnacion, Retired

Date of Birth: 1/7/1983
Birthplace: La Romana, Dominican Republic

Edwin Encarnacion, retired first baseman and designated hitter, was drafted in 2000, at age 17, by the Texas Rangers but a year later they traded him to the Cincinnati Reds. He played for four years in the minor leagues before being called up to the Reds in June, 2005. His first partial season was not strong, ending with a .232 batting average and only 9 home runs. He improved in his second and third years in the majors, batting .276 with 15 home runs in 2006 and .289 with 16 home runs in 2007.

At the end of July 31, 2009, after four and a half years with the Reds, Encarnacion was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays. In 2012, he had his best season, ending with a .280 batting average and 42 home runs. He finished the 2014 season with 128 hits, 27 doubles, 34 home runs, 98 RBIs, and a .268 batting average in 128 games.

In 2015, Encarnacion batted .277 with 146 hits, 31 doubles, 39 home runs, and a career high 111 RBIs in 146 games. Defensively, he played 59 games at first base and he made 32 assists, 33 double plays, 466 putouts, and 3 errors. In 40 at-bats in 11 postseason games, he had 11 hits, including 2 doubles and a home run, and 5 RBIs.

The Blue Jays exercised Encarnacion's $10 million option for 2016 on November 3, 2015. He had a good year in 2016, with career highs in hits (158), home runs (42), and RBIs (127). He batted .263 in a career high 160 games. He had a strong postseason, batting .286 with 10 hits, including a double and 3 home runs, and 9 RBIs in 35 at-bats in 9 games. He hit the winning walk-off home run in the Wild Card game.

Encarnacion became a free agent on November 3, 2016. He signed a three-year, $60 million contract with the Cleveland Indians on January 5, 2017. The contract includes a club option for a fourth year.

Encarnacion finished the 2017 regular season with a .258 batting average in 157 games. He had 143 hits, 20 doubles, 38 home runs, 107 RBIs, and 133 strikeouts to a career high 104 walks. In 3 postseason games, he had no hits in 7 at-bats. He walked once and struck out three times.

In 2018, Encarnacion played in 137 games. He had 123 hits, 32 home runs, 107 RBIs, 132 strikeouts to 63 walks, and a .246 batting average.

Encarnacion was traded to the Seattle Mariners on December 13, 2018. The New York Yankees acquired him in a trade on June 5, 2019. He spent time on the DL with a right wrist fracture in 2019. He finished the season with 102 hits, 18 doubles, 34 home runs, 86 RBIs, 103 strikeouts to 58 walks, and a .244 batting average in 65 games with the Mariners and 44 games with the Yankees. In the postseason, he had 31 at-bats in 8 games and he had 5 hits, including 3 doubles, and 2 RBIs. He struck out 13 times and walked 5 times and he had a .161 batting average.

Encarnacion became a free agent on October 31, 2019. He signed a one-year, $12 million contract with the Chicago White Sox on January 9, 2020. He finished the shortened 2020 season with 25 hits, 5 doubles, 10 home runs, 19 RBIs, 54 strikeouts to 16 walks, and a .157 batting average in 44 games. He was the DH in 43 games. In the postseason, he had no hits and one strikeout in two at-bats in one game.

Encarnacion retired after the 2020 season.

Career batting statistics for Encarnacion through 2020 include:

• 1,960 games played
• 1,832 hits
• 370 doubles
• 424 home runs
• 1,261 RBIs
• 1,426 strikeouts to 903 walks
• .260 batting average

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Edwin Encarnacion
ESPN Sports - Edwin Encarnacion