Signing Edwin Encarnacion is a colossal upgrade at designated hitter for the Cleveland Indians, who got to the World Series despite an underwhelming season from Mike Napoli, whose .239/.335/.465 line was roughly in line with the AL average for DHs (.254/.328/.452), including part-timers and substitutes.

In 10 more games and 57 more plate appearances, Encarnacion had 12 more doubles than Napoli, eight more homers, nine more walks, and 56 fewer strikeouts, along with comfortable advantages in any rate state that matters, including 30 points of wOBA and a 134 to 113 lead in the park-adjusted wRC+. Encarnacion was just better, by a lot, and it's more than a two-win upgrade for Cleveland even if we assume some age-related decline for him in his age-34 season.

I wrote at the start of the offseason that Encarnacion was a good bet for some age-related decline because he's an "old man's skills" player, delivering value with walks and power, but striking out a bit and bringing no speed or defense to the table. I used that to argue that while he might want four years and $80 million, I'd balk at those terms; instead, Cleveland gets him for three years and a reported $60 million overall, with the chance for four and $80 million if they exercise his $20 million option ($5 million buyout) for 2020.