BALTIMORE — Christian Encarnacion-Strand already holds a place in the MLB record books with the longest full name in major league history at 27 characters including the hyphen, shattering the previous mark of 22, and in 2026 the 26-year-old third baseman known as CES gave Baltimore Orioles fans plenty to chant about. Dumped by the Cincinnati Reds in April, he was a revelation at the hot corner and at the plate, helping keep Baltimore afloat when injuries threatened to derail its season by the All-Star break, posting an .838 OPS that ranked second on the team behind Pete Alonso with 11 homers in 58 games and a .513 slugging percentage, also second to Alonso.
CES delivered in clutch spots and with the glove. With runners in scoring position and two outs, he collected 12 RBIs in 34 plate appearances, compared to Gunnar Henderson's 12 RBIs in 69 plate appearances in the same situations. By FanGraphs' Defensive Runs Above Average, his 3.2 mark was fifth-best among Orioles fielders and by far the best of any Baltimore third baseman, ahead of frequent options Coby Mayo and Blaze Alexander, who both have strengths but did not match his defense.
The breakout came in his third organization after a winding path. A native of Walnut Creek, California, Encarnacion-Strand was a fourth-round pick by the Minnesota Twins out of Oklahoma State in 2021 and was sent to Cincinnati just over a year later as part of a three-player package for starter Tyler Mahle. He hit 32 homers with 114 RBIs and a .955 OPS across High-A and Double-A in 2022 to rank as Cincinnati's No. 7 prospect on MLB Pipeline in 2023, then hit 20 homers in 67 Triple-A games before debuting in July 2023 with an .805 OPS in 63 games. Injuries then stalled him — a .190 average and .513 OPS in just 29 games in 2024 before a season-ending broken wrist, and a .610 OPS in 2025 while plagued by a back injury, with only seven walks in 260 plate appearances for a .227 on-base percentage across those two seasons.
Needing a 40-man roster spot for third catcher P.J. Higgins in April, Cincinnati designated Encarnacion-Strand for assignment and sent him to Baltimore for cash in a move that became a coup for Mike Elias. He mashed 17 homers with a .555 slugging percentage for Triple-A Norfolk over his first three months in the organization and might have stayed there if not for Alexander breaking his hand after being hit by a pitch against the Kansas City Royals before the All-Star break. Summoned to spell Mayo defensively and provide pop off the bench, CES instead seized the everyday job, collecting six hits in his first three games with Baltimore including two home runs at Fenway Park, OPS'ing over 1.000 by his ninth game and never dipping below .730 the rest of the way.
From his call-up, Encarnacion-Strand started 45 of Baltimore's final 63 games at third base for manager Craig Albernaz, torching left-handed pitching with a 1.009 OPS and seven homers in 69 plate appearances while posting a .743 OPS against righties. He still walked sparingly with 11 free passes in 58 games, but raised his on-base percentage to a respectable .325 during a full, healthy season that finally let his slugging potential play. He should factor into Baltimore's plans for 2027, though his role is uncertain with Jordan Westburg expected to return to full health and potentially reclaim a starting job at third base.