While a National League team seemed an unlikely fit for the aging slugger at the start of the season, Encarnacion’s play at first base has been passable and has opened up more opportunities for the Mariners to find him a new home.
Milwaukee is obviously in playoff contention and has gotten little production out of their infield. Adding Encarnacion’s bat to the middle of the order to go along with MVP candidate Christian Yelich and free agent addition Yasmani Grandal would give the Brewers a formidable middle of the lineup.
The issue with all the possible trade scenarios is the money owed to Encarnacion for the remainder of this year and his $5 million buyouts for next season (unless the acquiring team wanted to keep him for $20 million in 2020).