Indians rumors: Cleveland ‘pulling out all the stops’ to land Edwin Encarnacion

Cleveland, still seeking first base help, is “pulling out all the stops” to try to sign free agent infielder Edwin Encarnacion, according to FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman.

Encarnacion is considering multi-year offers from as many as five teams, his agent told Heyman, but it’s unclear whether one of those is from the Indians.

The market for Encarnacion has been slow to develop, but the Indians might not be in the best financial position to sign him. Cleveland has attempted to sign other free agent first baseman, including Mike Napoli, according to Heyman, but the club hasn’t been able to complete a deal.

Encarnacion, 33, is one of the best available power hitters on the market, and it seemed likely that he would sign during the Winter Meetings. However, teams seemingly prioritized starting and relief pitching at the meetings and might not have been willing to meet Encarnacion’s demands.

Over 160 games with the Blue Jays last season, Encarnacion hit .263/.357/.529 with 42 home runs and 127 RBIs.