Jose Bautista isn’t the only Blue Jays slugger nearing free agency. Edwin Encarnacion is entering the final year of his deal as well, but it sounds like Toronto might have a better chance of retaining him than they do Joey Bats.
On Friday, Encarnacion told reporters that he wants to stay with Toronto and hopes to discuss terms with the Jays before the beginning of the regular season – but only before the beginning of the regular season.
“It happened last time, we’re talking about that, so I don’t want any negotiations during the season,” said Encarnacion, via MLB.com’s Gregor Chisholm. “I want to concentrate to help this team to win games, I don’t want to talk anything about contracts because I want to be 100 percent focused on my game.”
“I want to stay on this team,” Encarnacion added. “I love this team and I love the city, but it doesn’t depend on me. It depends on what they think. I hope we get it done so I can stay here the rest of my career.”
Would Encarnacion like to name a number like his teammate?
“A number? Yeah, 40 homers,” Encarnacion grinned.
Encarnacion hit 39 last season, so he’s not that far off. He seems much more open to negotiating than Bautista, who named his price for Toronto and told them he’s not willing to negotiate. Perhaps only Encarnacion will still be in Toronto come 2017.
