Crasnick: Bautista or Encarnacion Could Land in Boston Next Offseason

2016 may have just begun, but it’s going to be a very long year of speculation surrounding the future of Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion and the Toronto Blue Jays.

The two sluggers are free agents at season’s end and much of the talk in 2016 will be whether the Blue Jays can re-sign either one or potentially even both of Jose and Edwin to a contract extension.

Until the ink dries on a contract extension for Bautista or Encarnacion, speculation is going to run rampant this season. And it’s only just begun.

Over at ESPN, Crasnick has Bautista and Encarnacion listed as his 10th and 11th most interesting people to watch in 2016, and offers this little tidbit about the potential future of the Blue Jays’ sluggers:

“Both sluggers are eligible for free agency in November, and their hazy futures will be an inevitable piece of the narrative this summer in Toronto. The buzz is already building that one of the two will eventually land in Boston as Ortiz’s DH heir at Fenway.”

This falls in line with reports that surfaced about a month ago from WEEI which said there may be mutual interest between the Red Sox and Edwin Encarnacion.

It was tough enough to see David Price sign with the Blue Jays’ rival, but if one of Jose Bautista or Edwin Encarnacion were to ink a deal with the Red Sox next offseason, there would be a great deal of unrest among the Blue Jays’ fan base.

That’s not to say fans shouldn’t prepare themselves for the inevitability their either of Jose or Edwin could walk as free agents. The fact that they might sign with the Red Sox is what won’t sit particularly well with the Blue Jays fans.

Image via Darren Calabrese/The Canadian Press