Blue Jays: Examining whether Edwin Encarnacion remains on the Hall of Fame ballot

"Over the course of his 16-year career, the designated hitter played for the Cincinnati Reds, Blue Jays, Cleveland Guardians, Seattle Mariners, New York Yankees, and Chicago White Sox, making a name for himself in his third full season with the Blue Jays. After 16 seasons in the big leagues, Encarnación finished with a .260/.350/.496 slash line with 424 home runs in 8,126 plate appearances for a 125 wRC+ and 33.5 fWAR. Unfortunately, Encarnación will not make the Hall of Fame."

"Only nine position players have a fWAR below Encarnación's 33.5: Ray Schalk, Tommy McCarthy, Willard Brown, Lloyd Waner, George Kelly, Freddie Lindstrom, Bill Mazeroski, Monte Irvin, and Chick Hafey have a lower fWAR. Mazeroski was the last player of the bunch to retire, doing so in 1972. Mazeroski was known for his glove rather than his bat, but he's the only player to hit a Game 7 walk-off home run in the World Series."

The 2026 Hall of Fame ballot includes former Toronto Blue Jays Mark Buehrle and Edwin Encarnación. Encarnación is on the ballot for the first time after retiring following the 2020 season, while Buehrle begins his second year of eligibility. Encarnación compiled a .260/.350/.496 slash line with 424 home runs, 8,126 plate appearances, a 125 wRC+ and 33.5 fWAR over 16 seasons. Only nine position players have a lower fWAR than Encarnación's 33.5. Encarnación is one of 59 players with 400+ career homers, yet he is unlikely to reach the Hall of Fame and may struggle to remain on future ballots.

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