Yankees Homer Twice and May Soon Add Edwin Encarnacion, the A.L. Leader
CHICAGO — The Yankees neared a trade for the Seattle Mariners slugger Edwin Encarnacion on Saturday night, looking to fortify a lineup that has been riddled by injuries.
The Yankees continued to do just fine power-wise, in the meantime, getting a two-run homer from Gleyber Torres and a solo shot from Cameron Maybin in an 8-4 victory against the Chicago White Sox.
A person familiar with the negotiations said that the teams were trying to complete the deal involving Encarnacion, who leads the American League with 21 home runs. The person spoke under condition of anonymity because the trade was not completed.
ESPN was the first to report the deal, and multiple reports from other news media followed. It was not immediately known which players or considerations the Yankees might send to the Mariners, who are continuing an overhaul that began in the off-season.
The 36-year-old Encarnacion, who averaged 37 homers and 109 runs batted in over the previous seven seasons, was not on the field with the Mariners as they warmed up for Saturday night’s game at Oakland, and he did not play. The first baseman and designated hitter is hitting .241 and is among the league leaders with 49 R.B.I. and 48 runs. He is a three-time All-Star who moved to Seattle from Cleveland in December in a three-team trade that included Tampa Bay.
Gary Sanchez, who is second in the league in home runs with 20, added three R.B.I. as the Yankees leapfrogged the Rays for the A.L. East lead with their fourth win in 12 games. Torres capped a four-run fourth inning with his 15th home run, a drive to center off Reynaldo Lopez (4-7). He also had a sacrifice fly in the sixth.
White Sox catcher Welington Castillo and Manager Rick Renteria were ejected for arguing balls and strikes in the top of the eighth. James McCann replaced Castillo and hit a three-run homer off Jonathan Holder in the bottom half of the inning to close the deficit to 7-4. But Eloy Jimenez struck out swinging to end the inning, and the Yankees added a run in the ninth when Didi Gregorius walked with the bases loaded.
The Yankees have been at or near the top of the division despite a long list of injuries. Giancarlo Stanton could return during a 10-game homestand that starts on Monday after being sidelined by biceps, shoulder and calf injuries, and Aaron Judge also is inching closer after he strained his left oblique in April.
Both sluggers are on rehabilitation assignments at Class AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Stanton played left field on Saturday and went 0 for 4 with three strikeouts in a 2-0 loss at Durham. Judge was the designated hitter and went 0 for 4. Yankees Manager Aaron Boone said he expected Judge (strained left oblique) to play in the field on Sunday.
Seattle traded or let go of many of its big-name players after last season, with Nelson Cruz, Robinson Cano, Edwin Diaz and Jean Segura among them. The new-look Mariners got off to a 13-2 start this season but have since faded into last place in the A.L. West. They recently traded outfielder Jay Bruce to Philadelphia.
INSIDE PITCH
The Yankees improved to 5-0 this year when employing an opener, with starting each of those victories. Green, a right-hander, struck out six in two dominant innings against the White Sox. After Green departed, the left-hander (1-0) pitched five-plus innings for his first major league win. He allowed two runs and six hits, struck out seven and walked none. Yankees pitchers finished with 16 strikeouts and no walks.
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