Edwin Encarnacion doesn’t want to play anywhere else. He wants to finish his career with the Toronto Blue Jays.

He’s been very clear about that.

Now,the onus is on ownership and management, who have tripped over themselves on the way to free agency, to make that happen. They must find a way to make a deal with this all-time Blue Jays great to assure he plays at least the next four seasons in Toronto, which would likely be his final four seasons as a big-league player.

This could have been done earlier, probably cheaper, had it been the prerogative of president Mark Shapiro and general manager Ross Atkins. But there seemed no commitment on their behalf to get Encarnacion signed up long-term and no certainty as to the direction in which the club was going, either economically or on the field

Then this season began. And the Blue Jays led the American League in attendance for the first time in more than 20 years. And television ratings are through the roof. And popularity of the team is sky high, eclipsing anything seen during the World Series years. Blue Jays business isn’t just good, it’s great.

The club is heading to the AL Championship Series for the second time in two seasons. Maybe the World Series this time. And the players in the Jays clubhouse, in a vote taken by Sportsnet broadcaster Mike Wilner, overwhelmingly selected the quiet slugger Encarnacion as their team’s most valuable player. Encarnacion may not be the Jays’ best player — outsiders would certainly select Josh Donaldson as team MVP — but inside the sometimes cranky clubhouse, Encarnacion’s value is at an all-time high.

His extra-innings home run against Baltimore put the Jays into the AL Division Series. He currently leads the post-season in home runs and RBIs and is tied in runs scored with Donaldson. He’s hitting .375 when it matters most and all that coming after a season in which he tied for second in the AL in home runs, was first in RBIs, sixth in walks, an impressive 22nd in strikeouts, and had more individual moments that almost anyone in baseball.

His slide into second during Game 3 against Texas on Sunday led to a messed-up double-play attempt and the winning run by Donaldson.

But when spring training began and Jose Bautista made the early days so much about himself with his rather outlandish contract demands, Encarnacion took on the role he seems most comfortable playing. He was the other guy. He was the guy no one was talking about or necessarily talking to.

What were the Jays going to do with Bautista? How much would they, or could they, pay him? And for how many years?

This was talk radio at its most engaging. Say that much for Bautista. He was born to make headlines. He is a front-page story waiting to happen. He’s the piece of the bomb that leads to the explosion.

The headlines Encarnacion makes are never about who punched him or his bat flip or what he said or what he didn’t say or what he meant to say. They’re just about baseball.

If Jays management didn’t have a certain plan going forward on Bautista and Encarnacion last March, they should have one now.

They should find a way to commit long-term money to Encarnacion, while making a qualifying offer to Bautista (which would be in the $17 million range for one season and something he might want to consider for one year). But the priorities should be clear. 1. Sign Encarnacion; 2. Keep Bautista, only if he’s willing to use the one qualifying season to up his value to play elsewhere in the future.

They can’t cry poor the way some previous Blue Jays management cried poor. Not with the dollars coming in. Not with the attendance numbers and television numbers being what they are.

And how can you sell fans on maintaining a top of the order that includes Donaldson hitting second, with the third and fourth batters — primarily the power Encarnacion brings — disappearing in the open market.

The Blue Jays probably have the best starting rotation in baseball. That shouldn’t change any time soon. Aaron Sanchez, Marcus Stroman, J.A. Happ, Marco Estrada and Francisco Liriano are all under club control next season. So is closer Roberto Osuna and emerging reliever Joe Biagini.

The Jays have an option on Jason Grilli if they choose to act on it. Their pitching staff will need only an off-season tweak or two and the discovery of a couple of left-handers to be in place for the future.

They can’t replace Encarnacion’s 42 home runs in the market place or the timing of them. Maybe more than that, they can’t replace the way he fits in and produces year after year after year.

The cost will be somewhere beyond $20 million a year. Chris Davis is paid $21.2 million. Hanley Ramirez is at $22 million a year. The designated hitters: David Ortiz was at $16 million and Victor Martinez $18 million. The term is either three or four years.

There are no excuses to let Edwin Encarnacion walk anywhere, not when this is where he wants to be and the money is in place to keep him and Blue Jays fans happy.