"So I could adjust," Encarnacion said through a team interpreter on Thursday morning. "I wanted to get used to everything here -- to my teammates, to the organization, to the rules that they have."
Encarnacion signed a three-year, $60 million free-agent deal in the offseason after spending the last 7 1/2 seasons with the Blue Jays.
"I always thought that if I was going to sign with a new team, I would stay with them," Encarnacion said. "And if I had stayed in Toronto, then I would play. The president here [Chris Antonetti] asked if it would be possible to stay, and that made the decision easier.