Former Blue Jays slugger Edwin Encarnación is among the 12 new names on the ballot released Monday for the 2026 Hall of Fame.
Encarnación joins Cole Hamels, Ryan Braun, Matt Kemp, Howie Kendrick, Daniel Murphy, Rick Porcello, Shin-Soo Choo, Gio González, Alex Gordon, Nick Markakis and Hunter Pence, in addition to the group of 15 returning players, on the Baseball Writers' Association of America's ballot.
A player has to get a vote of at least 75 per cent to make it to Cooperstown and at least five per cent to stay on the ballot for next year.
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A player will no longer be considered by the writers if they aren't elected after 10 years on the ballot.
Encarnación made three all-star games in his eight seasons with Toronto, from 2009 to 2016. Over his 16-year career, which also included stops with the Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Indians, Seattle Mariners, New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox, he had 424 home runs, 1,261 RBIs with a .260 batting average.
He was tied with David Ortiz for the American League leader in RBIs in 2016 with 127, before hitting a walk-off homer against the Baltimore Orioles in the wild-card series that catapulted the Jays into the American League division series.
Encarnación finished with a career Wins Above Replacement of 35.3, according to Baseball Reference, below the levels of the average for a Hall of Fame first baseman at 65. Last year, the baseball writers inducted three players: Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner.
The results will be announced on Jan. 20, and the Class of 2026 will be officially inducted into Cooperstown on July 26.