In 2009, the Reds and Blue Jays pulled off the old 'trade a third baseman for another third baseman' deal, by trading Scott Rolen to Cincinnati for Edwin Encarnacion and unlike most of them it worked out pretty well for both parties. Although, when I saw the deal being made, I thought 'yeah, Reds stole this one'.
Rolen got a few ASG-nods, and ended his career in Cincy a few years later. Edwin went from a small-time third baseman to one of the best DHs in baseball, racking ASG after ASG, nearly getting an MVP, and becoming one of the defining forces of this current Blue Jays squad.
He had amazing seasons, well-hit ones, but they were so good that I regretted having to root against him. The Jays were annoying, pesky, and even if Edwin was doing amazing stuff, I had to ignore him. I couldn't root for him if he was fueling a mediocre team's playoff efforts year after year.
So...it's pretty fitting that Edwin joins a legitimately great team for 2017. The Cleveland Indians signed Edwin for 3 years, a ton of money, and it's gonna be fun to see Edwin play for a team I'll openly root for.
This also works for the Indians, as they probably weren't gonna bring back Mike Napoli (and i imagine he'll be returning to Boston any day now), and they also need some lineup restructuring, to work toward another title, and for more of a dynasty appeal. Edwin will be a solid mid-lineup bat, and will add to the nice amount of depth the roster already has.
Pretty happy with this deal. Hope it goes well for the Indians.
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