We shouldn’t be in this position right now.
The Mets are faced with a decision on which hitter to cut from their roster. If a non-biased person was given the specifics, there’s little doubt that Robinson Cano would be cut. He’s old, he can’t hit for power, he has next to no defensive value and he currently sits with a 50 OPS+ – one that’s being boosted by a gift single on a ball that the pitcher threw away when he would have been out by five steps.
And all of this was extremely easy to see coming. Here’s a snippet from an article on him that was posted in February, before the lockout was settled:
There’s a non-zero chance that Cano’s not awful in 2022. My guess would put it at under 2% but I won’t argue if you say it’s 3X that much. Regardless of where you put that number, are you willing to risk however many PA to find out in a year where a playoff spot needs every win maximized? It’s one thing to play Rafael Santana and his 52 OPS+ on a team that wins 108 games during the regular season. It’s another thing with the 2022 Mets.
Wishing that the Mets cut ties with Cano is not some principled stand with me. If he ends up on the roster and comes to the plate in a key situation, I’ll be rooting for him to hit a double into the gap. It’s just that knowing what we know about 39 year olds missing a full season at age 38, the likelihood of a 39 year old middle infielder being productive in a part-time role, the Mets less-than-awesome playoff odds and the likelihood of how the Mets will construct their roster – all of that adds up to thinking that roster spot should be used on a different and more-useful player.
Instead, the “bring him to Spring Training and see what he has left” crowd won out. Or, rather, the ones wishing for that outcome won out. There’s no telling what really drove the brass to do what they did.
But, because they kicked the can down the road instead of making the decision they should have the minute the lockout was over, we’re now faced with someone like Luis Guillorme or Travis Jankowski or Dominic Smith getting removed from the roster to continue the wishful thinking tour with Cano. And it makes me sad.
To me, one of the things that makes baseball great is its built-in fairness. You take turns hitting and fielding and you have to do both (before 1973) in order to play. That order and fairness, a meritocracy if you will, is being challenged by keeping Cano on the roster over better options. If the Mets send out someone besides Cano it will be incredibly depressing to me.
There’s no joy actively rooting for someone to be released in the middle of the season. You hear a lot of talk about treating Cano with the respect that someone with his stature has in the game deserves. And to me, the move that would have showed the most respect would have been to cut him in March, when he likely could have been picked up by another organization, if his desire was to continue his playing career in the U.S. Now who’s going to pick up an old guy with a 50 OPS+ cut in May?
If the Mets do cut Cano, there will be relief from me that they made the right decision. I’ll be glad for Guillorme, Jankowski and Smith – who all deserve to be on the roster. But my main reaction will be regret, whether they keep Cano or cut him. It’s a position they never should have put either the team or Cano himself in.
They owed him $41MM. How can anyone really feel they weren’t going to see what he has left? I would even say that they hoped he got hurt and insurance paid the tab. That’s alot of coin to not be sure about.
They have to pay him, regardless. And if anyone should know what a sunk cost is – it’s Steve Cohen.
Where have you gone Robinson Cano,
Brodie turns his lonely eyes to you, ou ou ou.
What’s that you say Robinson Cano,
DiPoto swears we jinxed Kalenic too, ou ou
Im 100% in agreement Brian.
Although the idea of baseball being a meritocracy is a fallacy since free agency changed player contracts so much (this is just factual).
In turning to the remainder of Cano’s contract. I view it this way. Cohen bought a used car knowing it needed new brakes and an engine overhaul. Thats the cost of doing business to own a classic. So this was a known deficit before even thinking about buying the team. Sunk costs are part of these kinds transactions. Its not my 40 mil so why should I care about Cohens Starbucks-level money? Theres another “positive” to take away: he did not have to pay him last year, so instead of even more millions, its much less. I think the Mariners are even still carrying some freight.
Losing Cano is the best thing that can happen. We have much better, much more committed, senior role models, such as Scherzer, who will be in the Hall. This team has plenty of senior leadership. Cano blows in the field, is as lazy ass of a player that can be imagined, cant hit his way out of a paper bag, and is a serial drug doper. Time. To. Go.
Cano is DFA 5 minutes ago
I hope you allow this one time exception of all caps….
Mets DFA Robinson Cano. Wahoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!
https://sny.tv/articles/mets-dfa-robinson-cano
Editor’s Note – We’ll save that exception for when they win the World Series
🙂
One cheat down one more to go. Now i can focus on my negative rage on Starling Marte. I will now be booing him until he suffers the same fate as Cano.
Im with you Name – jujust dont see it happening as this group actually brought him in. having seen enough of this in my day, I live in a fear of “once a cheat, always a cheat”.
Negative results mean very little as dodging the testers and testing is fabulously easy, especially in a sport as lax as baseball.
Fight the good fight Name.
The right play was always to give Cano a shot in ST and the regular season to see what he’s got to contribute. No one is in a rush to throw away $40 million. Well handled all around, especially by Buck.
Once again, this is a game played by real men. It’s not just numbers. This was a difficult but necessary move, but no one can see that he didn’t get an opportunity.
Yahooooo, indeed.
whew… I was still fearing a hangover from the Wilpon era Mets, who would have definitely kept Cano.
Now we move forward with even more evidence that this is a new franchise. Brodie VW’s mistakes are fading. Familia gone, Cano gone.
Who is the 27th guy cut? Reid-Foley?
I am happy that the Mets made the decision to help the team as opposed to the financially savvy one. I am not happy the Cano experiment didn’t work out. Had Cano hit to any degree, the Mets decision would have been much more unpleasant. The reality of the Met bench players had roles to play and that Cano did not.
– Tomas Nido: Backup Catcher
– Dominic Smith: LH DH/1B/Emergency LF
– JD Davis: RH DH/3B
– Travis Jankowski: 4th OF
– Luis Guillorme: SS/3B/2B
Hopefully this means the Mets will have Davis or Smith in the lineup far more often so that their bats can get rolling. Showalter seems committed to getting his starters regular rest which has meant that the Mets haven’t run out many lineups with their ideal assortment of: Alonso, McNeil, Escobar, Lindor, McCann, Canha, Nimmo, Marte and Smith or Davis.
Dave, My thoughts also. Good comment.
As Charlie said below, Cohen isn’t playing around.
Cano in his last game heard boos from the fans. He was becoming a distraction and a target of the fans in this positive season.
Our prayers have been answered.
100% the right move and offers an additional level of respect for Eppler, Cohen, and Buck (possibly Alderson) for making the best baseball decision for the team.
Lets face it, Cano wass on vacation anyway, so paying the money is now just transactional and not a team anchor.
LFGM
My hunch on today’s lineup:
Alonso-McNeil-Lindor-Escobar
Canha-Jankowski-Marte
McCann and JD (DH)
Give Nimmo the day off against tough lefty.
Let Jankowski affect the game however he could.
Let Dom bask in the glow.
Guillorme gives Lindor a day off sometime in this series.
JD needs to be worked in sometime. I think he should keep taking fly balls… better in LF than at 3B… but why not both… liability either way.
Dom gets Pete a day off and a day at DH.
Mets recharged after Cano departure.
Reportedly Lindor has a big welt on his leg from being hit last night, so maybe he sits tonight. Nimmo looks a bit lost at the plate the last couple of games although he finished strong last night. Gotta give Dom back to back games after last night’s production.
McNeil LF
Canha CF
Marte RF
Alonso 1B
Escobar 2B
Smith DH
Davis 3B
McCann C
Guillorme SS
I am stunned! A true statement made by the Mets. Wow. I guess money really isn’t the basis any longer…
Mr. Cohen ain’t playing around!
A difficult decision by the Mets and one that would never have happened in a million-zillion years by previous ownership. It was 100 % the correct baseball move. I hope Cano moves out of the NL/division but the Marlins are a possibility. I think any Cano fans would be carry-overs from his time with the Yankees.
Lets move on.