It’s the trade that shook up the sports world on Saturday, sending shockwaves throughout the league and prompting outcry on Twitter and all over the internet. I’m talking, of course, about the deal that will reportedly send Edwin Encarnacion from the Mariners to the Yankees.

Okay, so this swap between Seattle and New York isn’t quite as momentous as the mega-trade that saw Anthony Davis finally join the Lakers over in the NBA. But all kidding aside, it’s a move that will have a big impact on the American League playoff race, as Yankees general manager Brian Cashman has beefed up one of the most imposing lineups in baseball and turned it into a veritable home run factory at a low cost.

In acquiring Encarnacion, that’s what the Yankees have signed up for: dingers, and lots of them. The 36-year-old first baseman leads the AL in round-trippers this season with 21 to go along with a .241/.356/.531 line in 289 plate appearances. That amounts to a 140 OPS+, his best figure since 2015, and in line with the terrifying slugger that he’s been over the last seven years. It’s also a return to form after a down 2018 campaign in Cleveland, as the burly Dominican has upped his walk rate, cut down on his strikeouts, and is hitting fewer groundballs. Even if he offers next to zero defensively or on the bases, he’s plenty productive with just his bat.

With Seattle crumbling into dust after a 13–2 start—the Mariners are 17–41 since that point—it was inevitable that Encarnacion would be taking his lumber and his parrot elsewhere this season. That he ends up in pinstripes is a mild surprise, as New York is one of the few teams that could comfortably exist without his help. Every Yankees regular besides Brett Gardner has an OPS+ of 113 or better, and there’s power up and down the lineup, notably Gary Sanchez (20 homers), Luke Voit (17) and Gleyber Torres (15). And the Bombers have done this almost entirely without the help of the Bash Brothers 2.0, as Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge have missed most of the season with injuries.

Both hulking hitters, though, are soon to rejoin the squad. Stanton, who’s played in just three games this year due to shoulder and leg maladies, is at the tail-end of a rehab assignment and should join the Yankees at the beginning of next week. Judge, meanwhile, is working his way back from a strained oblique suffered in early April and should be ready to go next weekend.

That timing is what makes Encarnacion’s addition seem like a strange fit. When healthy, Judge is the regular rightfielder. Voit is the locked-in first baseman. Stanton split time between designated hitter and the outfield last season. Gardner is the starter in left, Aaron Hicks is in center and top prospect Clint Frazier has held down the fort (albeit with some awful defense) in right. Now comes Encarnacion, and he can only play first or slot in at DH. In other words: There’s a bit of a logjam that manager Aaron Boone has to solve, and that’s as he’s trying to figure out playing time for the quartet of Torres, DJ LeMahieu, Didi Gregorius and Gio Urshela at three infield spots.

The likeliest outcome post-Encarnacion is that he and Voit juggle first and DH between them, Judge takes over right, Stanton becomes the starting leftfielder, Gardner hits the bench and Frazier is either sent down to Triple A or traded to address the Yankees’ biggest extant issue: starting pitching. It’s an unfair outcome for Frazier, who’s hit well (.291/.340/.533 and a 128 OPS+), but as the only one of that group left with options, he’s the easy choice to be the odd man out, especially given his struggles with the glove. And as a 24-year-old with a first-round pedigree, he’s now a lock to show up in every Yankees trade rumor between now and July 31. Pour one out, too, for veteran Cameron Maybin, who was picked up in late April as the Yankees were being cut down by injuries and hit .274/.361/.368 as a part-timer but is a definite goner now.

Upon further review: This is pretty much Encarnacion for Morales now and Encarnacion for Frazier/Gardner later once Judge and Stanton are back, with Gardner as the new fourth outfielder and Frazier now set to pop up in every trade rumor from here through the deadline. — Jon Tayler, Smiling Politely (@JATayler) June 16, 2019

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