Will Edwin Encarnacion solve the home run problem for the White Sox?

Edwin Encarnacion

The White Sox finished 13th out of 15 teams in the American League with 182 home runs in 2019. The only two teams behind them were the Kansas City Royals and the Detroit Tigers, who combined to lose 217 games.

By way of comparison, the AL Central-winning Minnesota Twins smashed a league-leading 307 home runs, and the league average was 232 homers. Indeed, the Sox were well behind the curve in hitting the ball out of the ballpark last season.

Perhaps that's why the Sox agreed to terms on Christmas Day with veteran slugger Edwin Encarnacion. It's a one-year deal worth $12 million, and it includes a club option for 2021 that also is worth $12 million.

In 3-up, 3-down format, let's take a look at why this deal may work for the Sox, and why it may not.

3 up

1. Encarnacion has been of the game's most prolific sluggers since 2012. The soon-to-be-37-year-old has hit between 32 and 42 home runs in each of the past eight seasons. That's a model of consistency. Even in 2019, his age-36 season, Encarnacion clubbed 34 home runs and drove in 86 runs in only 109 games.

2. Encarnacion has proven to be successful in the DH role. In the past, we've seen the Sox try to force career National League players (Adam Dunn, Adam LaRoche) into the DH spot with little or no success. They also tried Yonder Alonso, which was a disaster, in part because Alonso had always been a regular first baseman and couldn't adjust to the particulars of the role. Encarnacion has played 723 career games as a DH and posted a .268/.365/.518 batting line with 175 homers and 530 RBIs. That's what you're looking for at the position. He will accept the job and won't moan about the mental challenges it presents.

3. The 2019 Sox got poor production out of their DHs. Sox DHs posted a .205/.285/.356 batting line with 17 home runs and 75 RBIs in 2019. That is pathetic from a bat-only position. A .641 OPS is entirely unacceptable at a lot of positions, most of all DH. Encarnacion's line last season was .244/.344/.531. That's an .875 OPS, a massive upgrade, and even if Encarnacion's production drops some, it's still an improvement for the Sox.

3 down

1. Encarnacion is going to be 37 years old next month. He did only play in 109 games last season, and he dealt with wrist, oblique and ankle injuries at different points during 2019. There's always the chance that once a guy starts getting hurt, he keeps getting hurt. That's a risk for the Sox here, and that's likely among the reasons Encarnacion only commanded one year guaranteed on the open market.

2. This signing limits lineup flexibility. One of the negatives to signing Encarnacion is he's somewhat redundant on the roster with Jose Abreu, who also is a right-handed slugger who needs to play first base or DH. Encarnacion can probably provide a few games at first to get Abreu off his feet here and there, but there's nothing else he can do other than DH. My preference had been to get a right-handed bat that could both DH and play the outfield. Obviously, Encarnacion is not that. There's no way he can be used in platoon situation with, say, Nomar Mazara.

3. Encarnacion struggled with high-velocity pitchers in the playoffs. Encarnacion started the 2019 season with the Seattle Mariners, before being traded June 12 to the eventual AL East champion New York Yankees. His playoff at-bats were, umm, not so great. He went 5 for 31 with three doubles, no home runs and 13 strikeouts in eight games. In particular, he struggled in the AL Championship Series against the Houston Astros, going 1 for 18 with 11 strikeouts. From my layman's perspective, the Astros just went after him with fastballs, and they threw pitches right by him. Something to watch for once the season starts.