With the chances of Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista possibly not re-signing with the Blue Jays increasing, Toronto appears set on a contingency plan. Start with left-handed slugger Kendrys Morales, then throw in Cuban infielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr.
The Blue Jays agreed to deals with both players Friday. Morales will get three years, $33 million, according to Fox Sports . Gurriel, who defected in February, agreed to a seven-year, $22 million deal with the Blue Jays on Friday, MLB.com first reported .
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Encarnacion and Bautista are expected to reject the Jays' qualifying offers and are reportedly seeking $100 million contracts this winter. Encarnacion has received an offer from the Jays, "but it's not where the camp wanted it to be," while Bautista is interested in signing with Red Sox, according to the Boston Globe .
Morales, 33, likely will replace Encarnacion as DH. He blasted 30 homers with 93 RBIs for the Royals in 2016 but his average dropped from .290 to .263 due in part to a dismal first half. He rebounded nicely to end the season with a .319/.356/.596 line over his last 101 plate appearances. In 28 career games at Rogers Centre, Morales is batting .276/.330/.438.
Gurriel was hitting .321 with eight home runs and 32 RBIs in 43 games for the Havana Industriales before defecting.
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Gurriel, 23, defected with older brother Yulieski, 32, during the Caribbean Series in the Dominican Republic. Yulieski Gurriel signed a five-year, $48 million deal with the Astros in July and hit three home runs and had 15 RBIs in 130 major-league at-bats this season. MLB declared him a free agent in August, and he worked out privately for teams over the past few months.
The Gurriels are considered the first family of Cuban baseball, with multiple members playing for the national team, including Lourdes Sr., who also was a national team manager.
