As promised, the Toronto Blue Jays have opened contract extension talks with slugger Edwin Encarnacion in spring training. The two sides reportedly held "preliminary" talks on Wednesday.
Encarnacion previously expressed interest in remaining with the Blue Jays for the rest of his career and the team's feeling was mutual, as it was planning to conduct negotiations with the veteran during spring training.
The 33-year-old will earn $10 million in 2016 after the Jays exercised his club option earlier in the offseason. He's currently finishing up a four-year, $37 million extension (including the team option) that he signed during the 2012 season. The slugger spoke to reporters when he arrived at the team's spring training facility, but did not talk about potential figures of a desired contract, unlike teammate Jose Bautista, who was a bit more straightforward in his demands.
Still, he's expected to command a sizable deal thanks to his performance over the past three seasons. Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca, who reported the extension talks between Encarnacion and the Jays, also pointed out the veteran's achievements over that span.
"He'll be one of the most coveted players on the open market if he gets there ... since 2012 he ranks second in the majors in home runs (151) and RBI (423), is fourth in slugging (.549) and eighth in OPS (.919)."
Last month it was reported that the two sides had yet to discuss an extension, leading some to believe the Jays may not meet Encarnacion's Opening Day deadline, which he set in order to avoid distractions during the 2016 season. Additionally, it was unclear if the new front office, led by president and CEO Mark Shapiro and general manager Ross Atkins, were going to be interested in keeping Encarncion on board beyond 2016. Former general manager Alex Anthopoulos was the one who acquired the first baseman/DH and extended him, and the new management is more keen on analytics and less inclined to spend big dollars.
Whatever the case, it's going to be hard for the team to cope with the losses of both Bautista and Encarnacion after 2016. It's pretty evident they aren't going to re-sign Bautista if he is indeed demanding $150 million or more, so Shapiro and Atkins will need to find a way to keep Encarnacion north of the border.
