Blue Jays intend to offer Bautista, Encarnacion

TORONTO — The Blue Jays’ 2016 season came to a sudden, dramatic halt with a loss to the Indians in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series, but plans for next year are well underway and the first priority is figuring out what to do with Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista.

Toronto general manager Ross Atkins all but officially confirmed on Monday afternoon that the pair of sluggers will receive qualifying offers from the team. Neither is expected to accept, but the offers guarantee the club would receive a compensatory Draft pick for each player if they depart via free agency.

The value of qualifying offers is set by the collective bargaining agreement, and it is determined by the average annual salary of the top 125 Major League contracts. The figure for this offseason is $17.2 million, which is an 8.9 percent increase over last year.

“On those two players specifically, barring anything unforeseen, that’s about as easy of a decision as we’ll make,” Atkins said about making qualifying offers to Encarnacion and Bautista.

Toronto’s decision is far less certain with Michael Saunders, who also is set to hit free agency following the conclusion of the World Series. Atkins was asked about the Canadian …

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