When Robinson Cano went down with a torn left hamstring on Aug. 5, appearances were that the accomplished infielder was likely going to miss the remainder of the 2019 season. Amazingly, at 36 years old, Cano has progressed well enough in his recovery that he will return to action for tomorrow’s game with the division-rival Nationals, according to Mike Puma of The New York Post (link). Cano concluded a two-game rehab appearance with the short-season Brooklyn Cyclones on Sunday.
With Cano out of action, the Mets have split keystone duties between Jeff McNeil and free agent pickup Joe Panik. Production hasn’t been powerful from the veteran Panik, who has offered a .265/.315/.338 line in a limited sample of 74 plate appearances. That said–as has been said before–it’s not as if Cano was his vintage self while wearing a Mets uniform this year, either.
In his first year in Flushing, the eight-time All-Star has hit .252/.295/.415 with 10 home runs in 346 plate appearances. That’s not what the Mets had in mind when they acquired him in an essentially franchise-altering trade this offseason, but even a shade of the Dominican’s former greatness would be greatly welcome as the Mets try to mount a 4.0 game deficit in the NL Wild Card race. After this season, Cano will have four years and $96MM remaining on the ten-year/$240MM contract he signed with the Mariners in 2013.
JD Davis losing playing time?
McNeil to 3B, Frazier to bench.
When Lowrie comes back probably.
no way in hell JD is losing playing time. Lowrie will be Zobrist/pinch hitter
Not a chance. Might be thier best all around hitter
It’s very weird to me that the Mets thought this would work out. There have been a few blockbuster contract exchanges the last few years that apparently were supposed to be, ahem, game changers, and they turned out forgettable, to say the least (like Adrian Gonzalez between BOS and LAD). I don’t fault the Mariners for hoping Cano would inject some star power and a versatile, consistent middle of the order/clean up/lead off hitter and I get them thinking his long contract would wind up looking palatable and a relic of a different era, relative to the current state of mega star contracts. I do fault the Mets for thinking that trading for him on the back half of that deal would work out. It does seems like he’s a bit re-energized by being on the Mets, but if he was propped up by PEDs and he isn’t on PEDs anymore, age is gonna catch up with him harder than it would have anyway and if that’s the case- I think this is the Cano they’re stuck with and who they were getting all along. Good for 80-110 games a season with lots of rest and an inevitable IL stint or three and when he is healthy, he’s gonna give you replacement level production: like 12 HR’s, 48 RBI’s in the time he plays. Equivalent to a 162 game season of 20 HR’s, 70 RBI’s, .280 batting average, etc. I really don’t see how the Mets thought he’d return to being a 25 home run .300 average threat.
The deal was never really about Cano. The M’s were asking teams to take Cano in order to acquire Diaz. The Mets looked a gaining an elite closer with years of control and the ability to dump the contracts of Bruce and Swarzak. If Cano gave them 300/340/430 then they thought it was worth the cost/prospects. They also wanted to keep Diaz away from the Phillies, the runner up for his services.
Finally someone else realized the trade was more for Diaz. The prospects dealt for Diaz who is still not arb eligible is less than what it cost the Cubs to get Chapman from the Yankees (Gleybar Torres) for deadline and eventually world series.
I remember it being for Diaz as well and that that was the sneaky part of it, but he hasn’t impressed as a Met. They don’t seem improved at all by the trades. And the dudes who’s money they were trying to dump (Swarzak and Bruce) wasn’t that prohibitive nor were they that unproductive. I dunno. I still see it as a flashy trade that was partially about acquiring Cano and thinking he’d give them a vintage performance.
Yeah it was but It’s not like Diaz had the track record of even a guy like Kimbrel (whom they could have signed without giving up anything).
Furthermore, Chapman was far better than Diaz and had been so for several years so it isn’t a comparable for valuation.
Kimbrel would have cost them a draft pick and a lot more money. Can’t say they could have just signed him.
kimbrel sucks, has not shown much with the Cubs
I agree with you but the Mets had no reason to believe that Diaz would implode. If he had pitched this year like he had in 2018, this trade would be a lot more palatable. Leg issues aside, Cano has been productive when healthy so I think there’s still some left in the tank.
If the Mariners hadn’t signed Cano, they’d be in a much worst spot rebuilding with a barren farm system.
Couldn’t they have just gotten more for Diaz if they hadn’t had to package Cano with him, dragging his value down?
Yeah they could have gotten more for Díaz, but there’s no way the Mariners would have been competitive at all without Cano starting in 2014. Without Cano, they never get Cruz or Segura, and there’s a chance Dipoto never gets hired meaning Díaz remains a starter and Paxton never been fixed. All I’m trying to say is that the Mariners would be in a much worst spot, as they weren’t going to rebuild with Jack Z, so they would have started over with no major league talent, unlike Dipoto who had Cano, Díaz, Segura and Paxton.
Hey KID-nice Mets style explanation with would haves and could haves.
Here’s the plain truth:
It’s history. Just like signing the agent, Brody who in his first post season choked by impulsively selecting the sucker package with Cano and Diaz.
So fate being what it is with the Mets look at where they are: Ripping their fans hearts again so that they come up short.
BTW-The 9th inning meltdown in DC last night was a classic. It will certainly be on the pennant race highlights!
Link? Or opinion
Cano re-energized? Have you seen him run to first? Neither have I.
Well, ‘Cano Re-Energized’ is a relative statement. It’s like saying “Cliff Lee is emoting like Carlos Zambrano or Jose Lima’.
Wonder if Reagan can win a race with Cano.
He was running when he blew out his hammy…
Robbie doesn’t run. He styles. Watch him on the bases or defending against a ball up the middle and you can see how smooth he is.
No worries Mets fans—you’ve got 4 more years of declining production and play ahead of you and Robbie is one step ahead of the pitching coach; he’s working on a new technique which he will roll out next spring. In port St Lucie he will roll out the Cano Shuffle. Jay Z is producing a soundtrack. Her is the inside track—Robbie will use his Lyft app any time his own wheels won’t get him there!
Adrian Gonzalez was great for the Dodgers during his first five years with them. Not sure what you’re talking about there.
Would leave him on bench. They won’t because of his salary but better team without don’t cha know cano.
He was actually playing better when he got hurt in Pittsburgh. Doesn’t mean I still don’t think they are better off without his lethargic, selfish presence in the line up. Like it or not, the Slug is returning quicker than we hoped.
must be dominican stem cells this time
Mets don’t want LOWRIE back this year their collecting 80% of his salary in Insurance.
Nimmo/LaGagres CF PLATOON- McNeil will play LF/3B
You would never say “the American’s former dominance” so why do you think this specific player’s race defines him? Maybe the “Dominican native” but Jesus Christ this reeks of racism.
You’re being pedantic.
“Dominican” is not a race. Relax.
Steroids speed up the healing process.
Jerry DiPoto is garbage. Making 10 times as many trades as anyone else to make it look like he’s doing something… Did he get anything back whatsoever for Zunino, Paxton, Edwin, Bruce, etc.?
Rhetorical question, the answer is “No”
You mean, “yes”.
Justus Sheffield will turn into a middle of the rotation quality starter. I’d say that’s a decent exchange for Paxton.
If they didn’t make this trade they wouldn’t have been able to make any other moves. Freedom from Swar and Bruce’s contracts gave you Wilson and Romos
I would take Panik any day of the week over this guy
I was deeply concerned when I learned of the trade for Robinson Cano. It was a great deal for the Mariners to avoid the back years of Cano’s contract when his production is sure to decline precipitously. I’m sure it was gratifying for Cano’s agent, Brodie Van Wagenen to bring his client back to NYC per his wishes. MLB should consider a cooling off period for agents who take front office positions. BVW not only brought Cano (and his contract) over, he also signed Jed Lowrie (his client and fellow Stanford alum) to an exceptionally lucrative deal, and signed another client, Jacob DeGrom, to a long extension. Time will tell how these moves work out, but so much self dealing with his recent client pool poses conflict of interest and ethical concerns.
Regarding Cano, the Mets are committed to him for another 4 years beyond 2019 at $24M per. I’m concerned his hamstring will be re-injured leading to miss additional time in 2020. Perhaps the Mets would be wise to use him selectively as a pinch hitter / DH initially and work him gradually back into the lineup on a part time basis in 2019. Joe Panik has done a reasonable job filling in at 2B, hitting .260 since joining the Mets.
Exactly when are you going to DH him ? Even if the Mets have an interleague series left that thought process makes no sense when talking about an NL club. Gotta run him out everyday so he gets ABs and hope he gets locked in….
Good point. Inter league play ended with the NYM CLE series. No opportunity to DH Cano. I remained concerned of a deeper hamstring tear. Mets have a lot tied up in Cano and should reintegrate him with caution.
I agree GOfLS—the Cano deal will go down as one of the worst in baseball history. Brody will crash and burn just like every Mets GM. I’m not cutting him any slack for his conflicts of interest.
Working for the Wilpon’s is an impossible task and the geniuses fell for Mr. Slick’s presentation that includes blowing hot air in Fred’s ear. “We can win this year and rebuild.”
So they are stuck with a white elephant and the best the Mets fans get is THIS YEAR. From here it’s ALL DOWNHILL.
I will say that the bullpen and Diaz in specific are really entertaining. Lol
Forget Cano: he’s lazy and instills bad habits in the younger players, like not running out ground balls and taking steroids so you stay good when you’re old. Forget Diaz: he looks like he’s about to cry every time he climbs the mound and can’t win a game when entering with a 10 run lead. I’d be happy if neither played another game with this team, considering they’ve literally been responsible for more losses than a replacement player this year. If not for them, we’d be contending for the division with the amount of games they’ve blown in terms of blown appearances late and unproductive outs when rallying. They just need to move on, cut their losses, and never make a trade like that again.
Nicely put, PSU
Nice post PSU…were you writing it as you enjoyed the Mets thriller last night. Just wondering if you had an inkling of an idea what the ending would be?
Haha
Haha let’s just say it was a stream of consciousness of all of the months of frustration over those two players. It’s infuriating that we have so much talent on this team and it’s wasted away by the failures of a few. And as for Mickey Callaway…