The New York Yankees announced Sunday that they have acquired 1B/DH Edwin Encarnación from the Seattle Mariners in exchange for RHP Juan Then and cash considerations.
Encarnación, 36, hit .241/.356/.531 (58-for-241) with 48 runs, seven doubles, 21 home runs, 49 RBI and 41 walks in 65 games with Seattle this season. The right-handed batter leads the American League in home runs and is tied for fourth in the Majors. He also ranks among AL league leaders in RBI (tied for third), runs (tied for fourth) and walks (tied for ninth). On June 9 vs. Los Angeles-AL, he became the 56th player in Major League history to reach the 400-homer plateau.
Since 2012, he leads the Majors in home runs (284) and RBI (813). He is the only Major League player in that span to record seven seasons with at least 30 home runs, followed by Nelson Cruz (five) and Mike Trout (five). His six seasons with at least 100 RBI since 2012 are also the most in the Majors (next: six players with four seasons).
The La Romana, Dominican Republic., native was acquired by Seattle along with a Competitive Balance Round B draft pick from the Cleveland Indians in a three-team trade on December 13, 2018 in exchange for 1B Carlos Santana and cash considerations.
Over 15 Major League seasons with the Cincinnati Reds (2005-09), Toronto Blue Jays (2009-16), Cleveland Indians (2017-18) and Seattle Mariners (2019), the three-time All-Star (2013-14, '16) is batting .263 (1,763-for-6,704) with 1,047 runs, 354 doubles, 10 triples, 401 home runs, 1,205 RBI and 870 walks in 1,872 games. He was originally selected by the Texas Rangers in the ninth round of the 2000 First-Year Player Draft.
Encarnación has hit 18 home runs in 69 career games at Yankee Stadium, the second-most by a visiting player at the venue.
Then, 19, owns a 2-5 record with a 2.67 ERA (111.1I P, 88 hits, 44 R/33 ER, 26 walks, 98 strikeouts, five home runs) in 24 starts over two Minor League seasons (2017-18). He was acquired by the Yankees along with LHP JP Sears from the Seattle Mariners on November 18, 2017 in exchange for RHP Nick Rumbelow. The right-handed pitcher was originally signed by Seattle as a non-drafted free agent on 7/2/16.
To make room for Encarnación on the 40-man roster, the Yankees transferred RHP Jake Barrett to the 60-day injured list.