According to Jeff Passan of ESPN, the Seattle Mariners have traded first baseman/designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion to the New York Yankees.
Encarnacion, 36, has hit no less than 34 home runs in a season since 2012 and currently leads the American League with 21 dingers in 2019. His 284 home runs since 2012 are the most in MLB over that span (Nelson Cruz, 266; Mike Trout, 253).
The veteran journeyman is slashing .241/.356/.531 with 49 RBIs, a 19% strikeout rate, a would-be career-high 14.2% walk rate, .370 wOBA (18th in AL), 139 wRC+ (12th in AL), and 1.7 wins above replacement (29th in AL; FanGraphs).
Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports that 19-year-old minor-league right-hander Juan Then will be headed back to Seattle, and Bob Nightengale of USA Today confirmed the Mariners are “eating most of the $30 million” owed to Encarnacion.
Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic reports that the Yankees will still owe Encarnacion $15 million between his salary and buyout and that the prospect received in the deal by the Mariners should fall in the “15-20 range” on their prospect rankings.
