According to two tweets (separate links) from beat reporter Jason Beck of MLB.com, Cleveland Indians designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion’s MRI revealed no structural damage. He’s considered day-to-day with a sprained ankle. Encarnacion said he was relieved at the results, having initially feared something much worse. His goal is to get the swelling down with an expectation that he’ll play again this postseason.
Terry Francona had this to say on Encarnacion’s status when he met with reporters today (credit to Jordan Bastian of MLB.com, who tweeted an image with the full quote).
“He is, I would say, I don’t know if ’remarkably’ better is a good word, but pretty close. He’s doing much better today. I don’t think he’s going to start tomorrow, but he’s not been ruled out, either. So, we’ll take our time and allow him to continue to get treatment. But if he’s that close to being available, that’s a really good sign. So, we’re obviously not going to do anything roster-wise.”
This is certainly the best scenario the Indians could have hoped for after seeing Encarnacion leave last night’s game with a scary-looking ankle injury. That the Indians don’t plan on making a roster move to replace Encarnacion for the remainer of the series is an encouraging sign that the team truly believes he can get back on the field. The 34-year old veteran led the team with 38 home runs during the regular season and finished second only to All-Star Jose Ramirez in wOBA (.378) and wRC+ (132). His 15.5% walk rate ranked 8th in all of baseball. Any extended absence for him certainly would have been devastating to an Indians team with hopes of a second consecutive trip to the World Series.
It’s expected that All-Star Michael Brantley will take over DH duties if Encarnacion is unable to play in Game 3 against the Yankees on Sunday. Brantley went 0-for-5 with two strikeouts after replacing Encarnacion in Friday’s game.
Encarnacion came to the Indians just last offseason on a three-year, $60MM deal that includes a $5MM buyout on a $25MM team option for 2020. Full details on Encarnacion’s contract can be found here.
If both AL divisional series complete before the NL games, would the league consider bumping up the ALCS? Trying to think of how long the Indians could go without having to rush him back
The schedules are set, regardless.
Why would the league bump up the ALCS just so Encarnacion would be rushed back/unable to play? That’s blatantly unfair.
It might make sense for a Cubs homer but not for anyone else
Uh……..no.
Even if he plays, can he be effective?
At least being a dh he won’t have to play in the field until the World Series
Not even sure if he’s guaranteed to play the field in the WS, esp if it hurts at all. Santana could more to Left again, but with Kipnis, Jackson, Chisenhall and Bruce plus Brantley and/or Allen …well a couple really good bats would have to be on the bench
Thanks for the update, a description of the playoff roster changes and rules would’ve been very helpful in describing the rules.
When I was in the minors I learned this incredible trick to get swelling down, merengue. I kid you not, whipped egg whites with a little sugar brings down the swelling quicker than any drug or any treatment like icing.
Lol thought you meant the Dominican dance at first
You played in the minors? Cool!