What will the Yankees do with each of their own free agents?
Edwin Encarnacion
Walking the parrot was a lot of fun for the Yankees during the regular season. Unfortunately, the parrot seemed to break his wings with the postseason began. That will make the organization think long and hard about bringing Encarnacion back with a $20 million salary in 2020.
Cutting him loose isn’t free though. The Yankees have to pay Encarnacion $5 million if they want to get him off the books next season. That gives the veteran slugger some measure of protection.
The problem for Encarnacion is that he is very limited as a player. He can only play first base or serve as the team’s designated hitter. Some might argue that his defense at first should limit him to just playing DH. Either way, he’s a 36-year-old power bat who doesn’t contribute much to the team unless he’s hitting home runs and drawing walks.
The Yankees clearly want Luke Voit to bounce back and regain his starting spot at first base next season. There’s also a possibility that Miguel Andujar is going to get work there since Gio Urshela seems to have stolen third base away from him. That doesn’t leave room for Encarnacion, or his parrot, to return to the Yankees’ club house next season.