Christian

Encarnacion-Strand

Encarnacion-Strand will get a chance to make an impact for the Orioles while Blaze Alexander is sidelined with a fractured left hand. The 26-year-old former prospect has always possessed impressive raw power, but he’s never been able to parlay it into an everyday role at the highest level during his time with the Reds. He’s in a great spot with Camden Yards being an ideal spot for right-handed pop. A wait-and-see approach is preferable here, but he’s the type of hitter that could get hot and make some noise in a hurry.

The 26-year-old slugger, who was acquired from the Reds in mid-April, gets his first chance with the O’s with Blaze Alexander (hand) heading to the injured list. Encarnacion-Strand has hit .273/.309/.555 with 17 homers, 48 RBI and a 77/12 K/BB ratio in 257 plate appearances at Triple-A Norfolk. He’s unlikely to see enough playing time initially to gain relevance from a fantasy perspective.

Encarnacion-Strand now has 16 home runs and 46 RBI to go along with a .292 average and .924 OPS. His swinging strike rate at Triple-A with Baltimore is almost 16 percent, which is not ideal, but his zone contact rate remains around league average. He’s also sporting a nearly 50 percent hard-hit rate. He’s just 26 years old, so it may not yet be time to fully write him off.

Since being traded to Baltimore, Encarnacion-Strand has gone 8-for-24 (.333) with two home runs, four RBI, and an 8/3 K/BB ratio in six games. He’s just 26 years old and still has big-time power, so there is a chance he can figure this out in a new organization.

Encarnacion-Strand represents a worthwhile zero-risk gamble for the injury-ravaged Orioles since he can play both corner infield spots and possesses top-of-the-charts raw power potential. The 26-year-old former top prospect fell out of favor with Cincinnati, mostly due to injuries and the emergence of other top prospects like Sal Stewart. It’s not out of the question that a change of scenery could breathe new life into his once-promising career. He’ll head to Triple-A Norfolk for now but figures to arrive in Baltimore at some point shortly.

This is quite a fall for the 26-year-old. Encarnacion-Strand emerged as an intriguing power prospect after hitting 32 home runs in Double-A for the Twins and Reds in 2022. He then hit 13 home runs in 63 MLB games for the Reds in 2023, but things quickly fell apart after that. He was limited to just 29 games in 2024 due to injury, and his results at Triple-A were modest in 2025. Still, there is plenty of power in his bat, and we’d be shocked if somebody didn’t claim him off waivers. He might be traded before that happens.

We still have some faith in CES, but it can’t bode overly well that the Reds have him batting sixth in Louisville’s lineup. He’s 4-for-13 with a homer through three games.

Both players were always seen as longshots to crack a crowded Opening Day roster, so there’s no real surprise here. Encarnacion-Strand, who was the Reds’ Opening Day first baseman in each of the past two seasons, will have to prove his health and produce at the Triple-A level before earning another shot in Cincinnati.

Injuries and inconsistent production have prevented CES fr making good on his prospect promise. He’s only 26 years old and there are some intriguing batted ball metrics under the hood, but the Reds roster is really crowded now, which makes it hard to see how he makes the Opening Day roster.

The 26-year-old slugger is currently on a running progression that he’ll need to work through before he’s cleared for live game action. It doesn’t sound like it should impact his availability for the start of the regular season, though any missed time during Cactus League play could hurt his chances of cracking the team’s Opening Day roster.