The Yankees made their first roster move of the offseason when they declined their $20 million option on Edwin Encarnacion for 2020.
He is due a $5 million buyout and will become a free agent. Encarnacion was acquired by the injury-ravaged Yankees from Seattle in June and was frequently a right-handed force in the lineup. But he suffered a pair of significant injuries, a fractured right wrist and a strained oblique, that sidelined him for chunks of time.
Though Encarnacion hit 13 homers in 44 regular season games with the Yankees, he disappeared during their ALCS loss to Houston, when he went 1-for-18 with 11 strikeouts. Encarnacion, 36, was ineffective enough the Yankees went to the hobbled Giancarlo Stanton for Game 5 of the series.
The Yankees also announced Thursday that Aaron Hicks’ Tommy John surgery went “as expected” on Wednesday in California. Hicks will likely be out at least until June.