Agent: Door still open for Encarnacion-Blue Jays reunion

Edwin Encarnacion may not be ready to say goodbye to Toronto after all.

The Blue Jays appeared to move on from Encarnacion when they reportedly agreed to a three-year deal with free-agent designated hitter Kendrys Morales last week. Encarnacion's agent, Paul Kinzer, might think differently.

In an interview on Sportsnet's "Tim and Sid" show Thursday afternoon, Kinzer revealed that there's still a chance his client could return to Canada in 2017 and beyond. "(General manager) Ross (Atkins) and I still talk," Kinzer told Tim and Sid. "I think the door's still open."

Kinzer added that he and Atkins had spoken "in the last couple of days."

Kinzer's words contrast with a report from earlier in the week suggesting the two sides hadn't talked since word of the reported agreement with Morales came down. A reported four-year, $80-million offer from the Blue Jays to Encarnacion was turned down.

Although that supposed offer wasn't in the ballpark, Kinzer explained that part of the reason it was turned down was due to timing.

"Well it wasn't doable, I'll put it that way," Kinzer said Thursday. "But they didn't insult us, it was just ... we had one day to go until we hit free agency, so Edwin just wanted to get an idea of what his value is."

Besides the Blue Jays, Encarnacion has been connected to the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, and Houston Astros. Kinzer noted Thursday that he's been talking with five or six teams about Encarnacion, including "a few" unspecified National League clubs.