The New York Yankees have added another big bat to their roster.
The Yankees on Saturday evening acquired Edwin Encarnacion in a trade with the Seattle Mariners, as first reported by ESPN’s Jeff Passan. The New York Post’s Joel Sherman says 19-year-old pitching prospect Juan Then may be included in the trade. He adds in some financial details of the move:
#Mariners sending $8.4M to #Yankees as part of the trade. For luxury tax purposes the hit for the #Yankees in 2019 is roughly $3.4M. So it will not preclude them financially adding a SP in near future
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) June 16, 2019
Encarnacion had been sidelined recently with a lower back issue, though that may have been the Mariners being extra cautious as they pursued trade options. The 36-year-old DH has slugged an AL-leading 21 home runs this season and recently surpassed the 400-home run mark for his career. He is batting .241/.356/.531 this season.
He will join a crowded DH market in New York. The Yankees have Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton out on rehab assignments getting closer to returns. They also added Kendrys Morales in a trade with Oakland, though he is on the injured list because of his calf. Plus Clint Frazier is also in the mix as an outfielder and DH option.
Seattle has been unloading players since their early hot start fizzled out. They’re 19 games out of first in the AL West and recently dealt Jay Bruce to Philly.
