Jerar Luis Encarnación (born October 22, 1997) is a Dominican professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

for the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League East, East Division. The ...

Early life

Jerar Encarnación was born in

Bayaguana Bayaguana is a Municipalities of the Dominican Republic, municipality (''municipio'') of the Monte Plata Province, Monte Plata Provinces of the Dominican Republic, province in the Dominican Republic. As of the Dominican Republic's 2002 census, th ...

, Dominican Republic, to parents Manuel and Carmela. His elder brother Anderson died in 2019.

Professional career

Miami Marlins

Encarnación signed with the

as an international

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

on September 8, 2015. He made his professional debut with the

Dominican Summer League Marlins The Dominican Summer Marlins are a minor league baseball team in the Dominican Summer League. The team plays in the Boca Chica North division and is affiliated with the Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball t ...

in 2016. Encarnación played 2017 with the

Gulf Coast Marlins The Florida Complex League Marlins are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Miami Marlins, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to the 2021 season, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Marlins. The team plays i ...

, 2018 with the

Batavia Muckdogs The Batavia Muckdogs are a collegiate summer baseball team in the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League (PGCBL). They are located in Batavia, a city in Genesee County, New York, United States. Their home field is Dwyer Stadium in the city o ...

and

Greensboro Grasshoppers The Greensboro Grasshoppers are a Minor League Baseball team based in Greensboro, North Carolina. They are members of the South Atlantic League and are the High-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They play their home games at First National B ...

and 2019 with the

Clinton LumberKings The Clinton LumberKings are a collegiate summer baseball team of the Prospect League. They are located in Clinton, Iowa, and play their home games at NelsonCorp Field. From 1956 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's Midwest Leag ...

and

Jupiter Hammerheads The Jupiter Hammerheads are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are located in the town of Jupiter in Palm Beach County, Florida, and play their home games at Roger Dean ...

. After the season, he played in the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season baseball league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are filled ...

. Encarnación was invited to spring training by the Marlins in 2020. That year, the

Minor League Baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

season was cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, and he did not play in any games. On November 20, 2020, the Marlins added Encarnación to their

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, an ...

to protect him from the

Rule 5 draft The Rule 5 draft is a Major League Baseball (MLB) player draft that occurs each year in December, at the annual Winter Meeting of general managers. The Rule 5 draft aims to prevent teams from stockpiling too many young players on their minor lea ...

. Encarnación spent the majority of the 2021 season with the Double–A

Pensacola Blue Wahoos The Pensacola Blue Wahoos are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League (1964–present), Southern League and the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are based in Pensacola, Florida, and play their home ga ...

, also playing in four games for Jupiter. In 63 games with Pensacola, he hit .222/.308/.400 with nine home runs, 28 RBI, and five stolen bases. On June 19, 2022, Encarnación made his MLB debut for the

. He hit a grand slam for his first major league hit as the Marlins defeated the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

. In 23 games in his rookie campaign, he batted .182/.210/.338 with 3 home runs and 14 RBI. Encarnación was optioned to the Triple-A

Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are located in Jacksonville, Florida, and are named for shrimp caught in th ...

to begin the 2023 season. In 84 games for Jacksonville, he hit .211 with 19 home runs and 54 RBI. On July 21, 2023, Encarnación was removed from the 40-man roster and sent outright to Triple–A. He elected free agency following the season on November 6.

Guerreros de Oaxaca

On January 24, 2024, Encarnación signed with the

Guerreros de Oaxaca The Guerreros de Oaxaca (English: Oaxaca Warriors) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Oaxaca City, Oaxaca, Mexico. Their home field is Estadio Eduardo Vasconcelos. History In October 1995, a group of businessmen, ...

of the

Mexican League The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports league in the country. The league has 20 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games ...

. In 26 games for the Guerreros, he batted .366/.439/.989 with 19 home runs and 36 RBI. On May 16, Encarnación was released to pursue an opportunity with an MLB organization. At the time of his release, he was leading the league in home runs, runs scored (33), and OPS (1.428).

San Francisco Giants

On May 16, 2024, Encarnación signed a minor league contract with the

. In 33 games for the Triple–A

Sacramento River Cats The Sacramento River Cats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and are the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Prior to 2015, the River Cats were the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland ...

, he batted .352/.438/.616 with 10 home runs and 33 RBI. On August 2, the Giants selected Encarnación's contract, adding him to their active roster. In 35 appearances for San Francisco, he batted .248/.277/.425 with five home runs, 19 RBI, and one stolen base. On March 23, 2025, it was announced that Encarnación would require surgery to repair a left hand fracture he suffered during a spring training game. He was subsequently given a recovery timetable of eight weeks.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Encarnacion, Jerar 1997 births Living people Águilas Cibaeñas players Batavia Muckdogs players Clinton LumberKings players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Mexico Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Dominican Summer League Marlins players Greensboro Grasshoppers players Guerreros de Oaxaca players Gulf Coast Marlins players Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp players Jupiter Hammerheads players Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic 21st-century Dominican Republic sportsmen Miami Marlins players Pensacola Blue Wahoos players Sportspeople from Monte Plata Province Sacramento River Cats players San Francisco Giants players Salt River Rafters players