The Yokohama DeNA BayStars in Japan confirmed the signings of right-hander Osvaldo Bido and outfielder Jerar Encarnacion on Friday. MLBTR covered the Bido signing in the middle of May. Rumors out of Japan at the same time linked Encarnacion to the club, but neither deal became final until today.
Encarnacion, a client of A & F Sports Agency, opened the season with the Giants. He’s out of minor league options, so San Francisco was initially reluctant to cut him loose. He worked mostly as a bench bat but picked up a handful of starts in the corner outfield or at first base. He started the season slowly, hitting .176 without a home run across 35 plate appearances.
The 28-year-old has played parts of four big league seasons, the last three of which came with San Francisco. He’s a .211/.237/.362 hitter with 10 home runs in just under 300 trips to the plate. The meager on-base percentage hints at his very aggressive plate approach, but Encarnacion has big raw power. He hit 26 homers in Triple-A with the Marlins a few seasons ago and obliterated minor league pitching at a .352/.438/.616 clip in 2024 to earn an MLB look from the Giants.
It’s the kind of profile that tends to play better in NPB or the KBO, where the average pitcher quality is lower than in MLB. Encarnacion will surely do better financially with the BayStars than he would have had he bounced around on minor league contracts after San Francisco designated him for assignment last month.
