When the Yankees traded for Encarnacion on June 16th a lot of fans including myself wondered why the move was made. It only cost the Yankees a lower level prospect to bring him to New York, but there wasn’t really a need for another right-handed power bat in a lineup already filled with them. However, as the injuries continued to pile up acquiring him proved to be very necessary.
The 36-year-old got off to a bit of a slow start with the Yanks but after the All-Star break, he caught fire and helped carry the offense up until he went down with a right wrist fracture on August 3rd against Boston.