Cleveland Indians: Edwin Encarnacion to focus on offense in 2017

Edwin Encarnacion is set to be the Cleveland Indians’ DH in 2017, making Carlos Santana the primary first baseman, according to Jordan Bastian.

Keeping players healthy is going to be a major focus for Terry Francona and the Cleveland Indians all season. And while fans want to see the team do as well as they did in 2016, no one wants to see a repeat of all the major injuries.

Edwin Encarnacion is a player who was signed to help make the team better, and perhaps be a difference-maker if there are injuries this season. One or two big hits could have been the difference between winning and losing the World Series last year, and he could be the player to provide that spark.

He must stay healthy to do this, and it appears that Francona has a plan that can allow Encarnacion to play for most of the season without risk of major injury.

The above tweet from Jordan Bastian does not mean that Encarnacion is never going to play in the field, but it will ensure that he is in the lineup nearly every day. He was brought here for his offense, and this will allow him to place much of his focus on just that.

He appeared in 160 games for the Toronto Blue Jays last season, logging 86 as a designated hitter. He may not need to appear in that many regular season games for the Indians in 2017, but he should end up in the 150-155 range. Serving primarily as a DH will help him reach that mark.

The only time he may see regular action at first base would be in the World Series, but that is a long way away. He just needs to focus on being a key asset for the offense all season, while Carlos Santana can settle in at first base.

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Encarnacion and Santana will have high expectations considering they are the two highest-paid players on the roster, but this defensive arrangement should allow both to be comfortable and to succeed at a high level.