Blue Jays Rumors: Encarnacion Will Get MRI, David Price in Play?

The Toronto Blue Jays suffered a 5-1 loss to the Oakland A’s on Saturday, but the loss of  Edwin Encarnacion may be devastating. In the first inning Encarnacion was attempting to beat out a groundball when he suffered the injury and collapsed to the ground after reaching first base.  Encarnacion was helped off the filed by Blue Jays trainers. 

“I felt [a] pop before I touched the base,” Encarnacion said. “That’s why, after I touched the base, I let my body go to the ground because I felt a lot of pain.”

Encarnacion entered play on Saturday tied for second in the Majors with 26 homers to go along with 69 RBIs in 88 games and can ill afford to lose thats kind of production as the race in the American League East continues to tighten up. Who will play first base for the Jays in the interim is being considered by the team.

Dan Johnson is one possible candidate to be promoted from Triple-A Buffalo, or Jose Bautista could be moved to first, opening up a spot in the outfield for Anthony Gose who is currently in AAA.

Jon Paul Morsi of Fox Sports is reporting that the Tampa Bay Rays are willing to trade ace David Price within the division and the Blue Jays could be the team most likely to pull off the deal. Toronto is clearly looking for pitching help at the deadline, but a deal for Price may prove to be cost prohibitive in terms of prospects for the Blue Jays to handle. The trade for Cubs starters Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel set the market for trading starters and Price’s value didn’t go down. Nevermind that Price is pitching better than he ever has.

Price is rumored to be traded to just about everywhere and so why not the Blue Jays?

There are more than a few reasons.

Tampa Bay never ever leaks out information on trade rumors and trade discussions, making it easy to discount this one. Thats not to say it couldn’t happen.  The Rays have made up 7 games on the Blue Jays in the last three weeks and may want to hold on to Price until next winter.

Did we mention trading within the division? Yes we disagree with the Morosi assessment.

We’ll keep and eye on this one, but don’t go counting your Blue Jays before they are hatched.

The team is reportedly scouting Arizona Diamondbacks infielders Aaron Hill and Martin Prado, as well as Padres third baseman Chase Headley. With Encarnacion likely headed for an extended stay on the DL, expect trade rumors for infield help to heat up.

Headley will become a free agent this winter. Hill and Prado are both under contract through 2016. All three carry large salaries and would likely require creative financial solutions to make a deal work.