Should the Cleveland Indians Sign Edwin Encarnacion?

The Cleveland Indians continue to be linked to free agent Edwin Encarnacion. Here are some reasons why team should and should not sign the slugger.

Following a somewhat unexpected World Series run, the Cleveland Indians went into the offseason with a roster lacking any major holes in it. The Indians will retain everyone from the 2016 roster except veterans Coco Crisp, Rajai Davis, Chris Gimenez, Mike Napoli, and Jeff Manship.

Mike Napoli is arguably the most notable departure of this group. He provided veteran leadership while slashing .239/.335/465 with 34 HRs and a 104 OPS+. The Indians need to find a way to replace that production at the 1B/DH spot. Fortunately for the Indians, a lot of 1B/DH type of players are available on what is looking like a rather thin overall free agent market this offseason. Napoli is even an option to return to the team.

While players like Carlos Beltran, Mitch Moreland, Steve Pearce, and Matt Holliday have already signed with teams, one notable slugger still remains available – Edwin Encarnacion. The Indians have been strongly linked to Encarnacion since Monday night. Paul Hoynes of cleveland.com reported,

"“The Indians are negotiating with free agent slugger Edwin Encarnacion about a multiyear deal. The deal might not happen. It might fall apart in the days to come, but right now the talks have traction.”"

Let’s examine some reasons why signing Edwin Encarnacion would be a good idea for the Tribe, as well as some reasons why signing Encarnacion would be a bad idea for the Tribe.