CLEVELAND: When the smoke cleared from Game 7 of the World Series and work for the offseason began, the Indians didn’t think Edwin Encarnacion coming to Cleveland was a real possibility.
But, with financial support from ownership that combined with a saturated market for first baseman, Encarnacion began to tread in Indians’ airspace as a potential target.
His signing, which adds one of baseball’s best hitters to the middle of the lineup, quickly became a possibility and then, on Dec. 22, a reality, when he and the Indians agreed to a three-year, $60 million deal that includes a club option for the 2020 season.
The deal also includes a clause in which Encarnacion will receive a bonus if the Indians hit certain attendance elevators.
Once it became apparent Encarnacion might be an option, Indians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti went to owner Paul Dolan to discuss the heavy financial burden it would be to bring him in. Ownership supported the aggressive, costly move as the right fit to the roster, and on Thursday Encarnacion was officially introduced as the newest and most expensive player to ever don an Indians uniform.
“Quite frankly, at the start of the offseason, we didn’t think that this would be possible because of the economic commitment that it would take to sign Edwin, but they made a leap of faith,” Antonetti said of the Dolans. “They made a leap of faith in our team, in the belief that we’re a good team that has a chance to compete for a postseason [berth] and, hopefully, a World Series.”
Finishing the deal took some time management skills by Antonetti, as well as some split focus between the final details of the agreement and The Little Mermaid play with his daughters. Major free-agent contracts don’t always come to fruition at the most convenient times. Somewhere between Under the Sea and Part of Your World, Antonetti closed the biggest deal in franchise history.
“There was a lot of text messaging and then I stepped out for two calls during the performance,” Antonetti said of his conversations with Encarnacion’s agent, Paul Kinzer, who was in between rides at Six Flags at the time. “Thankfully I’ve seen it [The Little Mermaid] before, so I know what happens. But it was actually a great performance. They did a phenomenal job. It gave me a little more leeway with my daughters because they were so locked in, less attentive to the fact that I was texting during the performance.”
All of that work will put Encarnacion, who turns 34 on Saturday, in the middle of the Indians lineup for at least the next three seasons. He takes the roster spot of Mike Napoli, who was universally praised for his production in the regular season and his presence in the Indians clubhouse.
Encarnacion has been one of the best sluggers in baseball and one of the most productive hitters in the game over the past five seasons.
As his price tag dropped because of a saturated market and the draft-pick compensation tied to his name, the Indians jumped at the chance to upgrade the heart of their order.
“The most difficult part about that process for us, honestly, was knowing that signing Edwin would mean that we couldn’t bring Mike Napoli back,” Antonetti said. “That was the most difficult part of that process, because we all know what he meant to our team both on the field and in the clubhouse.”
It was a costly deal by Cleveland’s standards financially, and it will also strip the Indians of their first-round pick in the upcoming amateur draft, as the Toronto Blue Jays had extended Encarnacion a qualifying offer.
The trade for Andrew Miller last July signaled the Indians were serious about this competitive window. The signing of Encarnacion put all of their proverbial chips in the middle of the table.
“Ownership has always stepped up in situations when it seems like the right investment to make,” Indians general manager Mike Chernoff said. “At the trade deadline, we didn’t expect to be able to acquire Andrew Miller, and we were able to do that. We’ve always had faith that ownership would be willing to support us in the right moment. This is one of those moments.”
Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Indians blog at www.ohio.com/indians. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/RyanLewisABJ and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/RyanLewisABJ.