Astros and Rockies were interested in Edwin Encarnacion

Move as many Edwin EncarnacionThe possible salary was the main motivation of the Mariners to find a trading partner for the slugger. That's why the Yankees finally won the auction. In addition, other teams contacted the M about Encarnacion, although in the end he was not as willing as New York to cover that much, said Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. tweets. Earlier in the day, we heard about Ray's interest, and Feinsand reports that the Astros "have also been active, the Rockies being part of the group to a lesser extent."

Encarnacion would certainly strengthen a first-base / DH mix that was Houston's only real offense this season, Yuli Gurriel and Tyler White published below average numbers. Once again, young Yordan AlvarezThis hot match start has created optimism that the Astros could meet this DH need from within, and the Astros apparently seem to need more pitching than another big bat (there again, the same could have been said of the Yankees).

As for the salary, Jason Martinez of Roster Resource has forecast in Astros a luxury tax figure of just under $ 189.5 million, well below the threshold of $ 206 million in the balance. competitive balance. Since the Yankees have finally added only $ 3.4 million in additional luxury tax funds into Encarnacion's trade, it would seem on paper that Houston would have taken a similar financial obligation and still have enough money to gain pitch without crossing the CBT line. . Of course, there are other factors that may be part of the Houston / Seattle discussions, such as perhaps that sailors are more interested in exchanging Encarnacion in the AL West, or maybe both sides could not agree on an appropriate perspective to change hands in an agreement.

Colorado would have been a little more curious for Encarnacion, which probably explains their "lesser interest". Without a DH post, the Rockies would have faced Encarnacion on first base each day, which could have been a difficult task for a 36-year-old who spent most of his time as a nine-season hitter. (Encarnacion started the first goal 45 times for the Mariners this year, but he still starts with 19 DH to keep him well rested.)

The addition of Encarnacion to the first base would also have required a return to the second base for Daniel Murphy, who has been a much lower-than-average defensive second base player throughout his career. The Rockies might have thought about whether the drop on the field would have been worth it, because Murphy's bat might have at least sparked positive help from second place. No baseball team had a lower production (-1.0 bWAR) than the Rockies compared to their second player in 2019.

Again, Murphy still has not really caught fire on the plate himself, hitting only .278 / .324 / .463 with five homers on 176, and missing four weeks with a fractured finger. While the Rockies plan to reach the trading deadline, the simplest solution to their second base situation may simply be to acquire a second base player as an upgrade to the situation. current. Ryan McMahon/Brendan Rodgers/Garrett Hampson mix, rather than move Murphy and get a new first-baseman.