Report: Yankees ' seriously looking' at Encarnacion after McCann trade

The big-budget New York Yankees just became a little more lean – and that might spell bad news for their rivals north of the border.

Less than 24 hours after dealing catcher Brian McCann to the Houston Astros in a three-player trade that will save New York $11.5 million per season, the Yankees have reportedly turned their attention to free-agent sluggers Edwin Encarnacion and Carlos Beltran, sources tell Jon Heyman of Today’s Knuckleball.

The Yankees’ level of interest in the pair remains unknown, and as many as a half dozen teams – including the Toronto Blue Jays – are believed to be angling for Encarnacion, arguably the top offensive player on the market this winter.

During an appearance Thursday on Sportsnet’s Tim & Sid, Encarnacion’s agent, Paul Kinzer, conceded “the door is still open” for a Toronto reunion, but said his client is prepared to stay unsigned through the Winter Meetings in an effort to land the deal he thinks he deserves.

“He feels like this is his last contract,” said Kinzer, who indicated it would take more than the Blue Jays’ reported four-year, $80-million offer to bring back Encarnacion. “He loves Toronto, that’s where he’d love to be but he’s been on a team-friendly contract, which he agreed to and we’ve never complained about. When he got the deal he was happy with it and he feels like he performed well and he was one of the better bargains in baseball the last four years. This is his chance, it’s his last contract.”

Encarnacion’s big right-handed bat would be a boon for the Yankees, whose lineup generated most of its power from the left side this season. The 33-year-old Dominican hit 42 homers and slashed .263/.357/.529 during his eighth and potentially final season in Toronto, while tying for the American League lead with 127 runs batted in.