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Yankees Thought To Be A Finalist For Encarnacion

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The Yankees are thought to be one of the finalists for free agent slugger Edwin Encarnacion.

According to WFAN baseball insider Jon Heyman, also of FanRag Sports, the Astros and Blue Jays are among the other teams still in the running for Encarnacion, who had 42 home runs and an American League-leading 127 RBIs last season.

The Yankees are in the market for a designated hitter after forcing Alex Rodriguez into retirement in August and trading away Carlos Beltran and Brian McCann. Encarnacion, 33, has split his time between DH and first base over the past several seasons with Toronto.

Encarnacion's agent, Paul Kinzer, told TSN that his client will likely sign a contract this week or early next week.

Some premature reports this week said the Astros and Encarnacion were close to striking a deal. Speaking to Heyman, Kinzer noted the reports also said he and his client were in Houston when they were actually in the Dominican Republic.

Meanwhile, the Yankees are talking to teams about third baseman Chase Headley and left fielder Brett Gardner, although interest in both is said to be mild, Heyman reported.

Headley, 32, batted .253 with 14 home runs last season. Gardner, 33, hit .261 with seven homers. Headley is set to make $13 million in 2017, while Gardner will earn $12 million.

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