Blue Jays reaffirm Encarnacion deal unlikely

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — The rumors surrounding Edwin Encarnacion and the Blue Jays just won’t seem to go away, but the club hasn’t changed its stance that a deal between these two sides is highly unlikely.

Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins once again poured cold water over the notion that Encarnacion is still a viable candidate to return. Atkins’ comments came less than an hour after a report surfaced on Wednesday afternoon that Toronto was a finalist for Encarnacion alongside Cleveland.

“It’s the same,” Atkins said when asked for an update on Encarnacion’s situation. “There’s nothing new to Edwin. There really is no news on that front. If there’s a way, I don’t see it. I don’t think [agent] Paul Kinzer sees it either, but we haven’t stopped trying.”

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By now, the obstacles standing in the way of a deal between Encarnacion and the Blue Jays are pretty clear. Toronto essentially closed the door on bringing back Encarnacion the moment it signed designated hitter Kendrys Morales to a three-year deal worth $33 million more than three weeks ago.

The Blue Jays would not have committed to a multi-year deal with Morales if they thought there was a realistic opportunity to sign Encarnacion at their preferred price. Toronto is believed to have somewhere in …

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