Edwin Encarnacion

The Cleveland Indians officially introduced prized free-agent signing Edwin Encarnacion on Thursday.

Over the last five years, Edwin Encarnacion has hit 193 home runs while emerging as one of MLB's most reliable power bats. The Cleveland Indians will hope he'll continue that pace for at least another three years. 

Normally, the week before Christmas is a busy time in baseball, with teams looking to finish up deals with free agents and complete trades before the game goes on an unofficial hiatus until we ring in the new year.

That hasn't been the case in 2016, leaving us with a rumor mill that's bursting at the seams with speculation about the immediate futures of some big names. 

The Cleveland Indians left the rest of the American League in their dust in the 2016 MLB playoffs. After winning 94 games in the regular season, they won seven of eight games en route to a near miss in the World Series.      

The stories this week about Edwin Encarnacion were mostly about how much money he wasn't going to get. And maybe he won't.       

Encarnacion's market "cratered," to use the word Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports worked into a tweet Wednesday. And maybe it did.

Surely, Boston Red Sox fans can't believe David Ortiz is retiring. We understand. Your great-aunt who couldn't tell a Carl Yastrzemski from a hole in the ground understands.

But Big Papi is indeed hanging 'em up.

The question now is, who can replace him?

The answer may be Edwin Encarnacion.

Edwin Encarnacion has been a key member of the Toronto Blue Jays for the last seven-and-a-half seasons, but with the 33-year-old in the final year of his deal, he could be playing elsewhere in 2017.

Continue for updates.

Attorneys for Edwin Encarnacion filed a motion in a New York court Tuesday to have a lawsuit against the Toronto Blue Jays first baseman dismissed due to a lack of evidence as well as questions regarding the jurisdiction of the case. 

Even with the MLB playoffs ongoing, many MLB fans are beginning to look ahead to the offseason and speculate where the biggest stars might land.

The MLB postseason is quickly approaching, but many teams around the league already have their sights set on the offseason and potential improvements before the 2017 campaign.