Giants lose slugging outfielder to contract in Japan

Some hitters never quite get their bat to translate to the MLB level.

That's what happened for Jerar Encarnacion with the San Francisco Giants.

His whole life, he could rake.

But in the majors, things were harder, and he struggled.

That has led Encarnacion to leave stateside baseball for a new beginning. He's heading to Japan to sign with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars.

As the stats in this post below show, Encarnacion hasn't been good enough in the majors but has formed a positive reputation as a hitter at other levels:

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Encarnacion will have a chance to have some serious success in Japan.

The thing to watch with a guy like this is will it give him a shot to eventually come back to MLB. There's no telling if that's exactly what Encarnacion wants, or if he's content to try and play in Japan for a long time.

Either way, at some point, he'll have a chance to draw some attention. If Encarnacion's bat plays big, there'll be a good possibility that someone notices. 

Encarnacion is moving on from MLB to chase success elsewhere. With his hitting ability, he's got a chance to make it happen.

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