Blue Jays' Edwin Encarnacion: Likely to receive offer from Jays

The Jays are expected to extend a qualifying offer to Encarnacion, a potential free agent, once the World Series ends, ESPN reports.

In a season-ending news conference Monday, Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins said the decision to extend an offer is "about as easy a decision as we'll make." The 33-year-old Encarnacion tied Boston's David Ortiz for the AL lead with 127 RBI while hitting 42 home runs and batting .263 in 2016. Interestingly enough, the Red Sox have been rumored to be interested in replacing the retired Ortiz with Encarnacion. The latter signed a 3-year, $29 million deal in in 2013 and is coming off a team option at $10 million. The price of a qualifying offer this year is $17.2 million. An offer can be made through the fifth day after the World Series, and a player has a week after that to accept.