MLB Trade Deadline: 5 surprise bats that could hit the trade market

Edwin Encarnacion

Team: Toronto Blue Jays

Stats: .238/.326/.473, 17 home runs, 50 RBI

Now, this is a name that may require a little bit of imagination to buy into it, but I promise that at the end of the page, I’ll have you believing me.

Encarnacion is one of the few true power hitters in the game, ranking second in all of baseball in home runs, third in RBI, and tenth in wRC+ over the last three seasons. If quality hitters are a rare commodity on the trade deadline, power is much more rare and there isn’t a team out there that couldn’t benefit from adding another power bat.

Well, except for the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Blue Jays pace all of baseball in runs scored, having outscored their nearest competitor by 73 runs. With a line-up that features Josh Donaldson, Jose Bautista, and Encarnacion in the middle, plus the likes of Russell Martin, Jose Reyes, and more, Toronto has offense to spare. Unfortunately, they have also given up the seventh most runs in 2015 and have some significant holes on the pitching staff to fill, particularly in the rotation. To me, is sounds like the Blue Jays could easily find a deal with another contender that is mutually beneficial to both sides, with Encarnacion flipped for a much needed starter or two.

Encarnacion is very affordable, making just the balance of $10 million in 2015 and a team option for $10 million next season. That said, he did acquire 10-5 rights this past week, which gives him full no-trade rights. While that doesn’t preclude the Blue Jays from trading Encarnacion, it does mean they have to get his approval before doing so. He’d undoubtedly want to go to a contender, of which there happen to be two in San Francisco and Washington that are looking for offensive boosts and have pitching to spare.

Like I said, “win-win”.

Next: Jean Segura - Milwaukee Brewers