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Robinson Cano

Robinson Canó Signs With Mexican League’s Diablos Rojos

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The Diablos Rojos of the Mexican League announced that they have signed Robinson Canó, as relayed by Enrique Rojas of ESPN.

Canó, now 41, has a lengthy list of accomplishments in his big league career, though his legacy is also burdened with a couple of suspensions for performance-enhancing drugs. After thriving in the early parts of his career with the Yankees, he signed a 10-year, $240MM deal with the Mariners going into the 2014 season, which was tied for the third-largest contract in MLB history at that time.

He continued to perform at an All-Star level with his new club but was hit with his first PED suspension in May of 2018, an 80-game penalty for testing positive for furosemide. He returned to the M’s later in that season but was traded to the Mets the following winter, going to Queens alongside Edwin Díaz with a five-player package going back to Seattle.

Canó had a bit of a down year in 2019 and then a huge bounceback in 2020 but received his second suspension in November of the latter year. Due to a positive test for Stanozolol, he was given a 162-game suspension, wiping out his entire 2021 campaign. He returned in 2022 but ended up bouncing around the league. He was released by the Mets after playing in just 12 games then signed with the Padres. He got into another dozen contests with that club before getting released again, then returned to the Friars on a minor league deal before getting traded to Atlanta for cash. Atlanta selected his contract but let him go after nine games.

He has been a free agent since August of 2022. His mega contract ran through 2023, meaning he could have been signed for the league minimum last year with the Mets on the hook for the remainder, but no club decided to do so. That’s not terribly surprising, considering his age, the suspensions and his .150/.183/.190 slash line in limited playing time in 2022. He hasn’t been totally out of action, as he has been playing winter ball in the Dominican Republic in the past two winters and also played for the DR team in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.

It seems his desire to play remains and he’ll be joining the Diablos Rojos for 2024. His MLB track record consists of 2,267 games with 2,639 hits, including 335 home runs. He won the World Series with the Yanks in 2009 and has eight All-Star games, five Silver Sluggers and two Gold Gloves on his résumé. Like many other players connected to PEDs over the years, the framing of his accolades will be contested for years to come.

The Most Notable Remaining Free Agents

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We’re now a week into the regular season and most of the attention amongst clubs and fans is on the games themselves. It’s a quiet time of year from a hot stove perspective. The offseason is finished and it’s far too early for teams to kick the tires on meaningful trades. Some extension talks might trickle into the season but otherwise, transactions this time of year typically take the form of waiver claims and internal prospect promotions.

Even at a relatively quiet portion of the season, there remain a handful of notable players on the free agent market. Gary Sánchez just came off the board on a minor league deal last week, for instance. Which other players — many of whom are late-career former stars — could still find interest as depth options, particularly if they’re amenable to a minor league contract?

Miguel Sanó

Sanó had a disastrous 2022 season. Right knee troubles kept him to 20 games and 71 plate appearances, in which he hit .083/.211/.133 with only one home run. That ended his time with the Twins, who made the obvious call to buy him out of a club option, but he’s only a year removed from hitting 30 homers. Sanó has topped 25 longballs on four occasions in his career. He won’t turn 30 until next month, making him one of the younger players who didn’t sign over the offseason. Sanó reportedly held a showcase for scouts in early February but there was no publicly reported interest from any teams thereafter.

Chris Archer

Like Sanó, Archer spent the 2022 season in Minnesota but was bought out at year’s end. He tossed 102 2/3 innings across 25 outings, posting a 4.56 ERA with a modest 19.2% strikeout rate and an elevated 11% walk percentage. It was the most hittable Archer has been in his career, but he still averaged 93 MPH on his four-seam and 88.7 MPH on his slider. He’s clearly not the upper mid-rotation arm he was when he made two All-Star games during his time with the Rays, but he’s probably the top unsigned starting pitcher. Archer hasn’t been substantively linked to any team since being cut loose by Minnesota in November. Last month, Joel Sherman of the New York Post wrote that Archer had conducted a showcase for teams, though it isn’t clear when that workout occurred.

Darin Ruf

Released by the Mets earlier this week, Ruf is a right-handed hitter who has typically been an effective platoon first base/corner outfield option of late. He mashed at a .271/.385/.519 clip two years ago. At last summer’s deadline, he was carrying a .216/.328/.373 line over 90 games for the Giants. New York acquired him for a four-player package including J.D. Davis and Thomas Szapucki. Ruf’s production cratered in Queens but he’s not far removed from being a well-regarded offensive player.

Stephen Piscotty

Piscotty has tallied over 2800 MLB plate appearances split between the Cardinals and A’s. An above-average hitter through his first four seasons, he’s struggled significantly in the last four years. Piscotty was released by Oakland last summer and didn’t return to the majors after signing a minor league deal with the Reds. He caught on with the Giants and collected eight hits in 25 at-bats (.320/.370/.440) but didn’t land a job out of camp. San Francisco granted him his release on Opening Day.

Zack Britton

Britton was arguably the sport’s most dominant reliever during his halcyon days in Baltimore. He remained an elite ground-ball artist for much of his time with the Yankees, excelling in high-leverage innings through 2020. Poor health has intervened in the last two years. Britton spent time on the injured list with elbow concerns in 2021, struggling when able to take the mound. He eventually required Tommy John surgery, which wiped out virtually all of the ’22 season. Britton returned at the tail end of the season but couldn’t find the strike zone and was shut back down. He’s thrown multiple showcases in recent months.

Ken Giles

Much of what applies to Britton is also true of Giles. They’re different pitchers stylistically — Giles is a right-hander whose best days were fueled by huge strikeout tallies instead of grounders — but he’s also a formerly elite reliever who has fallen on hard times from a health perspective. Giles also required Tommy John surgery. His procedure came late in 2020 and cost him all of the ’21 campaign. He returned to the majors with the Mariners last summer and was let go after five appearances. Giles also worked out for clubs late in the offseason but has yet to put pen to paper.

Corey Knebel

Continuing with the run on relievers, Knebel is a former All-Star closer in his own right. He wasn’t as dominant as either Britton or Giles at his peak, and his career has frequently been interrupted by injury. Knebel was very productive as recently as 2021, when he posted a 2.45 ERA in 25 2/3 innings for the Dodgers. That earned him a $10MM deal with the Phillies, which was sidetracked by shoulder problems. He finished the year on the injured list after tearing his shoulder capsule.

Leury García

García spent a decade with the White Sox in a utility capacity. Never much of an offensive threat, he nevertheless endeared himself to multiple coaching staffs based on his defensive flexibility. García signed a surprising three-year deal with Chicago over the 2021-22 offseason. He had a dreadful ’22 campaign and was off to a rough start in Spring Training. The White Sox cut bait in spite of the two remaining years on his contract. García’s an affordable utility option elsewhere.

Mike Minor

Minor made 19 starts for the Reds last season, allowing a 6.06 ERA. He was hampered by shoulder issues at times and struggled significantly with the home run ball. Minor has allowed more than five earned runs per nine innings for three consecutive seasons, though his strikeout and walk rates were solid up until 2022. He held a showcase in February and drew some reported attention from the Cubs last month.

Dallas Keuchel

A former Cy Young winner who was effective for the White Sox during the shortened 2020 season, Keuchel has been hit hard over the past couple years. He played for each of Chicago, Arizona and Texas last season and was tagged for a 9.20 ERA across 14 starts. Keuchel was excellent over four Triple-A outings in the Ranger organization. Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported a couple weeks ago that the Phillies had expressed loose interest in the two-time All-Star, though Philadelphia apparently didn’t put a formal minor league offer on the table.

Others of note: Archie Bradley, Kole Calhoun, Robinson Canó, Kyle Crick, Didi Gregorius, Michael Pineda, Garrett Richards, Aníbal Sánchez, Andrelton Simmons, Jonathan Villar

Robinson Cano Elects Free Agency

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Robinson Canó is back on the open market, as the Braves announced this afternoon that he’s elected free agency after passing through outright waivers unclaimed. This was the anticipated outcome once Atlanta designated Canó for assignment in the wake of their acquisition of Ehire Adrianza on Monday.

It has been a tumultuous season for Canó, who has now been cut loose by three separate clubs. He began the year with the Mets but was released in May. The Padres signed him to a major league deal a couple weeks thereafter, but he spent less than three weeks on the roster before being released. He returned to San Diego on a minor league pact, and while he didn’t get back to Petco Park, he did play well enough in Triple-A to catch the Braves attention. Atlanta acquired him last month and immediately brought him back to the big leagues.

Canó hasn’t hit well at any of his stops, however, and his stint on each roster has been brief. Between the three clubs, the 39-year-old owns a .150/.183/.190 line with a lone home run through 104 plate appearances. That’s come on the heels of a 2021 campaign wiped out by his second career performance-enhancing drug suspension, making it unsurprising teams have had such a short leash with Canó scuffing.

The eight-time All-Star tallied a matching 104 trips to the plate with San Diego’s top minor league affiliate in El Paso. He showed far better there, posting a .333/.375/.479 line with a trio of home runs and five doubles. That output was propped up by a .403 batting average on balls in play that he wasn’t likely to sustain, but Canó at least showed decent bat-to-ball skills at the Triple-A level.

If he’s open to another minor league deal to continue playing, Canó could latch on elsewhere for the season’s stretch run. It seems unlikely another team will be willing to let him step right onto the big league roster given his dismal MLB numbers, even though doing so wouldn’t come at any real financial cost. The Mets are on the hook for what remains on Canó’s contract over the next two seasons (with the Mariners chipping in a bit of money). If the 17-year MLB veteran can make it back to the big leagues, a signing team would only pay him the prorated portion of the $700K minimum salary.

Braves Acquire Ehire Adrianza, Designate Robinson Cano For Assignment

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The Braves announced Monday that they’ve acquired infielder Ehire Adrianza from the Nationals in exchange for minor league outfielder Trey Harris. In a corresponding roster move, Robinson Cano has been designated for assignment.

It’s Adrianza’s second stint with the Braves, as he also filled a utility role for Atlanta just last season. The veteran switch-hitter slashed .247/.327/.401 in 209 plate appearances for the Braves and appeared at six positions last year. Thus far in 2022, however, he’s mustered only a .179/.255/.202 output in 94 trips to the plate.

That rough stretch at the plate notwithstanding, Adrianza has a track record of at least passable, if unexciting, production at the plate. From 2016-21, he turned in a combined .252/.318/.381 batting line over a much larger sample of 1169 plate appearances. He doesn’t have plus defensive grades at any position, but Adrianza also won’t be a liability anywhere in the infield. For the time being, he can help bridge the gap at second base while the team awaits Ozzie Albies’ return from a broken foot. As of two weeks ago, Atlanta was targeting a mid- or late-August return for the two-time All-Star and Silver Slugger winner.

In return for Adrianza, who’ll be a free agent at season’s end, the Nats will pick up the 26-year-old Harris, who previously ranked in the middle tier of the Braves’ top 30 prospects but has fallen off with some rough showings in Double-A. Baseball America twice listed Harris in Atlanta’s top 30 (No. 21 in 2020 and No. 26 in 2021), and FanGraphs pegged him as the system’s No. 16 prospect in March 2021. Harris was a senior sign out of Mizzou in the 32nd round of the 2018 draft and hit well through the 2019 season, topping out with a .281/.318/.411 showing in that hitter-friendly setting during his 2019 debut there.

There was, of course, no minor league season in 2020, however, and Harris has struggled in his second and now third trips through the Double-A level. After batting .247/.317/.354 in 405 Double-A plate appearances last year, he’s at .238/.328/.323 so far in 2022 (220 plate appearances). That’s a far cry from his earlier career performance, which saw him hit .300 and OPS north of .800 in each of his first two professional seasons. Scouting reports on Harris peg him as a corner outfielder — likely left field — with some power to his pull side, but he obviously has a ways to go to rebuild some of his prospect stature.

As for Cano, this is now the third team to cut bait on him this season. He’s already been released by both the Mets and the Padres, and the former All-Star’s brief nine-game showing didn’t do much to inspire confidence in an eventual rebound. Cano went just 4-for-26 with three singles, a double, a walk and four strikeouts in his brief time with the team. He’s now hitting .150/.183/.190 through 104 Major League plate appearances in his return from a 162-game PED suspension last year. The Braves can technically trade Cano up until tomorrow’s deadline, but it’s very likely that they’ll instead just release him.

Braves Select Robinson Cano, Designate Phil Gosselin

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The Braves announced that they’ve selected the contract of veteran second baseman Robinson Cano, just hours after acquiring him from the Padres in exchange for cash. Fellow infield veteran Phil Gosselin was designated for assignment to open a spot on the 40-man and 26-man rosters. Atlanta also reinstated Adam Duvall from the paternity list and optioned first baseman Mike Ford to Triple-A Gwinnett.

Cano, 39, was suspended for the entire 2021 season after the second positive PED test of his 17-year Major League career. Once a perennial All-Star and MVP candidate who looked like a surefire Hall of Famer (prior to the multiple PED bans), Cano is in the penultimate season of a ten-year, $240MM contract signed with the Mariners prior to the 2014 season. He’s been released by both the Mets and the Padres this season thanks to an awful .149/.182/.189 batting line through 77 trips to the plate, but Cano did post a strong .333/.375/.479 slash in 104 Triple-A plate appearances for the Padres’ top affiliate this year.

Now back in the NL East, Cano will help his former division rival try to overtake his former club in a potential revenge series this weekend. For the time being, he’ll give Atlanta a platoon partner at second base for the righty-swinging Orlando Arcia — though it stands to reason that if Cano’s form resembles his output with the Padres and Mets from earlier in the year, the leash will be quite short. The Braves are biding their time until Ozzie Albies can return from a fractured foot, but he’s likely still more than a month out.

Gosselin, 33, had a nice run in Triple-A Gwinnett this season but hasn’t hit much in a tiny sample of 24 big league plate appearances (.261/.292/.261). He’s spent parts of ten seasons in the Majors, so teams generally know what they’re getting with him at this point. Gosselin will generally hit for a passable batting average but doesn’t walk or hit for power. He’s capable of playing just about anywhere on the diamond and is a solid defender at multiple infield positions, making him a nice veteran to have on hand as a depth option. The Braves will have a week to trade Gosselin, release him or try to pass him through outright waivers. Even if he goes unclaimed on waivers, he can reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency.

Braves Acquire Robinson Cano

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July 11: The New York Post’s Jon Heyman tweets that the Braves are planning to add Cano to the roster today in advance off their series against Cano’s former Mets teammates.

July 10: The Braves have acquired infielder Robinson Cano from the Padres for cash considerations, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports (Twitter link).

After being released by the Mets in May, Cano signed a big league deal with the Padres soon thereafter, but was then released again after he turned down the team’s request to go to Triple-A.  Cano’s veteran status gave him the right to opt into free agency, but after checking his options on the open market, he re-signed with San Diego on a minor league deal.

Since reporting to Triple-A El Paso, Cano has hit well, posting a .333/.375/.479 slash line over 104 plate appearances.  While obviously the minor league setting (and hitter-friendly environment) have to be taken into account, Cano’s performance does give some hint that he still has something left in the tank at age 39, and after missing the entire 2021 season due to a PED suspension.  Cano batted only .149/.182/.189 over 77 combined PA with the Padres and Mets at the MLB level this season.

The Braves obviously saw something they liked, and will now bring Cano back to the NL East to see if he can revive his career.  Atlanta has developed a knack for striking gold on struggling veterans, and it was only a year ago that the club picked up several such players (i.e. Eddie Rosario, Jorge Soler, Joc Pederson, Adam Duvall) who ended up fueling their run to the World Series title.  As poor as Cano looked earlier this season in New York, Mets fans must have some trepidation over Cano suddenly catching fire and helping Atlanta overtake the Mets in the NL East.

Atlanta is thin on left-handed hitting, and there is a vacancy at second base since Ozzie Albies will be out until at least mid-August while recovering from foot surgery.  On paper, Cano is an interesting platoon fit alongside the right-handed hitting Orlando Arcia at second base, and another righty swinger in Marcell Ozuna at designated hitter.

It wasn’t long ago that Cano was still among the game’s most feared bats, as he posted an .896 OPS over 182 PA for the Mets during the shortened 2020 season.  While his positive PED test inevitably casts some doubt upon those numbers, there isn’t much risk for Atlanta in picking up Cano to see what he can contribute.  Of the $24MM owed to Cano for the 2022 season, the Braves will have to cover just the prorated portion of the MLB minimum salary once Cano hits the active roster, as the Mariners ($3.75MM) and Mets are covering the rest.

Trade Rumors: Gallen, Bumgarner, Cano, Perez

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Despite rival teams’ interest in Zac Gallen, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale writes that the Diamondbacks right-hander is “not going anywhere.”  This isn’t the first time Gallen’s name has surfaced in trade rumors, and after an injury-marred 2021 season, Gallen has re-established himself with some very solid numbers this season.  Beyond just his ability, Gallen is also arbitration-controlled through the 2025 season, making it obvious both why other teams would want to acquire him, and why the D’Backs would want to keep him.  Though it is increasingly looking like the D’Backs will be sellers again at the deadline, the club has been resistant to moving cornerstone players and going into rebuild mode — Ketel Marte (another popular trade candidate) was even signed to an extension back in March.

One player the D’Backs “would love to move” is Madison Bumgarner, Nightengale notes, but that is a tougher sell to suitors.  After signing a five-year, $85MM deal with the Diamondbacks in December 2019, Bumgarner endured two rough seasons before bouncing back to more decent form thus far in 2022.  However, it will take more than just decent numbers for Arizona to entice another team into taking on even a decent-sized chunk of the approximately $48.4MM still owed to Bumgarner through the 2024 season.  Also, Bumgarner has a five-team no-trade clause, though the five teams on his current list aren’t known.

More trade buzz from around the league…

  • Also from Nightengale, Robinson Cano has been some getting some attention, as the veteran slugger tries to revive his career with the Padres’ Triple-A team.  Cano was suspended for the entire 2021 season and has posted only a .371 OPS over 77 plate appearances with the Padres and Mets this season, though he has been hitting well in the (batter-friendly) environment of Triple-A El Paso.  Since either the Padres or a new team would owe Cano only the prorated portion of a minimum salary if he made a big league roster, Cano could be an interesting trade chip for any team that wants to take a flier on the former All-Star.  From San Diego’s perspective, they probably wouldn’t expect much for Cano in return, or they could hypothetically include him as a part of a larger trade package.
  • Martin Perez makes some sense as a sell-high trade candidate for the Rangers, though both Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News and ESPN.com’s Buster Olney feel it might be more likely that Texas keeps the veteran lefty and even looks to extend him into at least the 2023 season.  Perez is enjoying a career year, with a 2.34 ERA over an even 100 innings, and a generally positive set of advanced metrics indicating that his performance isn’t a fluke.  Perez has helped keep the Rangers on the outskirts of the wild card race, so if Texas can string together some wins in July, the team might not be selling at the deadline whatsoever.

Padres Sign Robinson Cano To Minor League Deal

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The Padres have announced that they have signed Robinson Cano to a minor league deal and assigned him to Triple-A El Paso.

It was just over a week ago that Cano lost his spot on the Padres’ roster, with the club reportedly asking Cano to accept a trip to the minors. As a veteran with over five years of MLB service time, Cano had the ability to reject that offer and return to free agency. It appears that he didn’t find any better opportunities on the open market, as he will now indeed report to the Chihuahuas after all.

It’s been a tumultuous season Cano, on the heels of missing the entirety of the 2021 campaign due to a PED suspension. After a mediocre showing of .195/.233/.268 in 12 games to begin the year, he was released by the Mets. Due to the fact that Cano’s contract runs through 2023, any team in the league could sign him for the prorated league minimum, with the Mets covering the bulk of his salary. The Padres, looking for offense but dealing with a budget crunch, stepped up and gave Cano an opportunity. However, his 12 games for the Padres went even worse than his 12 games for the Mets, as he hit just .091/.118/.091, eventually leading to his release.

After all that bouncing around, it seems the goal of this deal is for Cano to get into a groove and see if he can get some of the old magic back. Padres’ manager Bob Melvin explained to Dennis Lin of The Athletic that Cano essentially views it that way. Despite the fact that Cano is 39 years old, he’s not too far removed from being a productive major leaguer. In 2020, he hit .316/.352/.544, wRC+ of 142. Of course, a pessimist could point to the positive PED test and dismiss that line, but regardless, Cano will head to El Paso and see if some regular playing time can get him back on track.

Padres To Release Robinson Cano, Select Nomar Mazara

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The Padres are set to select the contract of outfielder Nomar Mazara, tweets Robert Murray of FanSided. The former Rangers top prospect-turned-journeyman inked a minor league pact with San Diego over the winter. The move comes in conjunction with the “imminent” release of floundering second baseman/designated hitter Robinson Cano, per Dennis Lin of The Athletic (Twitter link). Murray and Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported last night that Cano was likely to opt for free agency after declining to be optioned to Triple-A (as any player with five-plus years of Major League service can do). Whether he’ll be formally released or elect free agency is largely a moot point; the outcome is the same.

Mazara, now 27 years old, never developed into the perennial power-hitting threat many anticipated when he was a consensus top-100 prospect in 2015-16. He showed plenty of promise when he swatted 20 home runs as a 21-year-old rookie with the Rangers in 2016, but Mazara was essentially a league-average hitter with below-average offense for the first four years of his career in Texas.

A trade to the White Sox produced dismal results, as he hit just .228/.295/.294 in 42 games with Chicago the following season. Mazara signed with the Tigers after being non-tendered by the Sox, but he hit just .212/.276/.321 in 50 games with Detroit last season.

All in all, Mazara has been about 12% worse than league-average with the bat in his big league career, by measure of wRC+, but he’s having a monster season in Triple-A. Through his first 152 plate appearances this season, Mazara is hitting .367/.454/.641 with seven homers, 14 doubles, a huge 13.8% walk rate and a lower-than-average 19.1% strikeout rate.

Cano’s time with the Padres will prove to be brief, as he only signed with San Diego on May 13. However, the Padres’ hopes that the eight-time All-Star could right the ship following a .195/.233/.268 showing with the Mets didn’t pan out. Quite the opposite, in fact, as Cano turned in a calamitous .091/.118/.091 output in 34 plate appearances. Overall, Cano has gone 3-for-33 (all singles) with one walk and 10 strikeouts in a Padres uniform.

The swan dive in Cano’s production comes on the heels of a season-long absence in 2021 due to the second positive PED test of his 17-year Major League career. Given that context and the fact that he’ll turn 40 in October, it’s perhaps not much of a surprise that Cano has struggled in 2022, although the extent of his woes at the plate are nonetheless jarring.

Once Cano becomes a free agent, he’ll be free to sign with any club that has interest, though it’s difficult to fathom another team putting him directly on the big league roster. Should Cano wish to continue playing, he’d likely have to ink a minor league deal, but his apparent refusal to accept an assignment to Triple-A El Paso with the Padres calls into question whether he’ll be willing to go that route. The Mets still owe Cano $21.25MM for the 2023 season, while the Mariners (who originally signed him a decade-long, $240MM contract prior to the 2014 season) are kicking in $3.75MM as part of the trade that shipped him from Seattle to Queens.

Robinson Cano Expected To Lose Roster Spot With Padres; Reportedly Likely To Elect Free Agency

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The Padres are likely to request that second baseman Robinson Canó accept an optional assignment to Triple-A El Paso, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post (Twitter link). Heyman suggests the eight-time All-Star would refuse to go to the minor leagues, as is his right as a player with five-plus years of MLB service time.

If San Diego follows through with removing Canó from the active roster, he’d have the right to elect free agency. That seems to be the likeliest outcome, which would end his time in San Diego after just 11 games. Robert Murray of FanSided first tweeted there was “growing chatter” that Canó’s time in the organization could be coming to a close.

The Friars just signed Canó to a big league deal last month, finalizing agreement on May 13. That came on the heels of the Mets designating the five-time Silver Slugger winner for assignment and releasing him, one year removed from a 162-game PED suspension. In so doing, New York ate the approximate $37.6MM remaining in guaranteed commitments on his contract through 2023. The Padres, pressed right against the base competitive balance tax threshold and looking for affordable offensive help, rolled the dice on Canó for just the prorated portion of the $700K league minimum salary.

Canó had started awfully with the Mets, hitting .195/.233/.268 through 12 games. That came with a massive spike in strikeouts and ground-balls relative to his earlier work, and he saw a significant drop in his free passes. San Diego chalked that up to the minuscule sample and hoped Canó would rediscover better form at the plate, but that hasn’t happened in the past couple weeks.

Through 33 plate appearances, the lefty-swinger is hitting just .094/.121/.094. He’s drawn one walk against ten strikeouts and has yet to tally an extra-base hit. The alarming strikeout, grounder and walk numbers have all gotten worse relative to his early-season numbers with the Mets. It seems the continuation of those struggles will lead the Padres to make a quick trigger in letting Canó go not long after bringing him aboard.

At 30-20, the Friars are 3 1/2 games behind the Dodgers in the NL West. They’re firmly in Wild Card position at the moment and surely have their sights set on taking the division, so they can ill afford to continue devoting Canó at-bats while he’s struggling to this extent. With no way to send him to the minors without his consent, they’re reportedly willing to watch him depart the organization entirely.

Canó has seen occasional starts at second base, freeing up Jake Cronenworth to bounce around the diamond a bit more. If the Friars indeed grant Canó his release, Cronenworth would likely head back to the keystone on a more or less everyday basis. Eric Hosmer, Ha-Seong Kim, and Manny Machado make up the remainder of the typical starting infield. The team is hoping star shortstop Fernando Tatís Jr. can make his return either later this month or in early July.

Meanwhile, the 39-year-old Canó would head back to the open market and explore other options. The Mets will continue to pay all of his salary (minus the league minimum for any time he spends on another MLB roster), so there’d be no financial risk for a team in adding him. The bigger question is whether he’s still capable of performing well enough to warrant an active roster spot.

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