Encarnacion hopes to help Indians 'win a World Series'

Edwin Encarnacion wasted no time establishing his goal for next season after reportedly agreeing to a three-year, $60-million deal with the Cleveland Indians on Thursday night.

"I am very happy to reach this agreement with the Indians," Encarnacion said, according to Hector Gomez of Deportivo Z 101. "I hope to help this team win a World Series."

The reigning American League champions landed arguably the best slugger on the free-agent market at a discount, beating out the Oakland Athletics, Toronto Blue Jays, Texas Rangers and others for his services.

Encarnacion's agent Paul Kinzer expected his client to be one of the hottest commodities this offseason, even opting to decline a four-year, $80-million offer from the Blue Jays after the season ended in hopes of landing a larger deal during the winter meetings. The high-priced offers never arrived however, as suitors, and the price, quickly began to drop due to what Kinzer labelled as a perfect storm of an over saturated market, lack of demand, and a luxury-tax threshold that prevented the deep-pocketed teams from bidding.

Kinzer even publicly acknowledged that Encarnacion became frustrated with the process and the thought of having played his final days in Toronto. Their patience was eventually awarded Thursday though, when they finally settled on a deal with Cleveland.

"I wanted a multi-year contract and thank God I got it with Indians," Encarnacion said.

After being knocked out in the American League Championship Series in back-to-back years, Encarnacion now joins a club that finished with the second-best record in the American League in 2016 and lost in Game 7 of the World Series to the Chicago Cubs in extra innings.