Edwin Encarnacion lands with White Sox on 1-year deal worth $12M US: reports
Slugger hit 34 homers between Mariners, Yankees last season
Slugger Edwin Encarnacion apparently is headed to his fifth team in five years.
Encarnacion, who will turn 37 on Jan. 7, split last season between the Seattle Mariners and the New York Yankees, hitting a combined .244 with a .344 on-base percentage, a .531 slugging percentage, 34 homers and 86 RBIs in 109 games. In eight playoff games for the Yankees, he batted .161 (5-for-31) with no homers, two RBIs and 13 strikeouts.
He became a free agent after the postseason when the Yankees declined a $20 million option.
Encarnacion began his major league career with the Reds in 2005, and he remained in Cincinnati until a July 2009 trade sent him to Toronto. He earned all three of his career All-Star selections (2013, 2014, 2016) during his time with the Blue Jays.
The Indians signed him as a free agent in January 2017, and he spent two seasons in Cleveland.
In 1,916 games over 15 major league seasons, Encarnacion has a .263/.352/.499 batting line with 414 home runs and 1,242 RBIs. He ranks third among active players in homers, fourth in RBIs, fifth in extra-base hits (789) and sixth in walks (887).
With All-Star Jose Abreu established as the White Sox's first baseman, Encarnacion likely will be employed as a designated hitter. Chicago used 10 players in that spot last season, no one for more than 40 games.