Despite constant reassurances since he was resigned that he’d be the DH and occasional first baseman, the Blue Jays today announced that Edwin (E5) Encarnacion will be the team’s everyday third baseman.
According to the above-linked article from the National Post’s stalwart Jays reporter John Lott, manager John Farrell, the decision was made based on E5′s defensive improvement — especially his footwork.
Now, yeah, from the little bit I’ve seen, read and heard out of the Jays camp, E5′s looked great at first. Good footwork, good reactions, everything. If all that’s true, sure, he might be great at third. But E5′s problem at third hasn’t been his glove, it’s been his arm.
You can kind of get away with a third baseman who can’t hit the side of the barn if you’ve got a great glove at first, but Toronto’s got Adam Lind. I guess management is pretty confident in his glove. They’d better be.
Couple of quick things
Travis Snider’s eating and tweeting habits are newsworthy.
Let’s all root for Adam Loewen.
It’s too bad Drew’s outfield preview is out of date already, but it’s still worth a read if appreciate fun and smart.
That Cathal Kelly piece changed my life. Travis Snider is officially my favorite player.
If Ichiro wasn’t as cool as he is, this might make him cry.
I wouldn’t call myself a Blue Jay fan by any means but I am a fan of a lot of the players. I think the young core of Lind, Snider (and his mustache), Romero, and Drabek are solid. I hope they are able to compete in the AL East in the near future.
P.S. Being a NL Central guy I had the opportunity to watch Encarnacion when he was with the Reds and everything you said is true. He’s a disaster at third and I can’t imagine he has improved enough in one offseason to make himself a passable major league 3B.
Thanks for stopping by, even if you do hate AL baseball.
The Jays are certainly set up to compete in the next couple of years but, really, everything depends on Snider’s mustache and Bautista’s beard. That’s where this team derives all of its power.
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