The legacy of Robinson Cano

On December 3rd, 2018, Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen completed one of the most controversial transactions in recent Mets history when he traded two of his top prospects, Justin Dunn and the sixth overall pick in the 2018 draft, Jarred Kelenic for star closer Edwin Diaz and Robinson Cano. The trade was debated for many reasons, one being Cano’s contract, which had been negotiated by Van Wagenen when he was Cano’s agent prior to being hired as the Mets general manager. The deal felt like a gift from Van Wagenen to his client and when you added in the prospects sent to the Mariners, Diaz’s ineffectiveness in 2019 and Cano’s injury plagued, mediocre 2019, the trade took on a negative cast that has haunted it to this day.

The truth is that the trade has so far been a bit of a wash. Kelenic has struggled since debuting in 2021 and Dunn was traded with other players for Jesse Winker and Eugenio Suarez in a cost cutting move by the Cincinnati Reds prior to the 2022 season. The other players sent by the Mets were about matching contracts, a classic Wilponian move, and were soon gone from the Mariners. Diaz has rebounded solidly from his poor 2019 and hopefully will be a key piece of a Mets playoff run in 2022. Diaz also could be gone next year and if Kelenic becomes the star centerfield he was projected to be when drafted, the Mariners clearly won the day.

That leaves Cano. On the field, Cano was a bust. If not for his production during the odd 2020 season (in which numbers were extremely skewed both positively and negatively), Cano would have been basically a 0 WAR player who had seriously regressed both at the plate and in the field. Of course, all of that should be suspected from a player who walked into Citi Field for the first time at the age of 36 and is currently 39 years old. Yet this was Robinson Cano, one of the players that the Wilpons were lampooned for not even mildly pursuing when he was arguably the best second baseman in baseball and a free agent at the age of 31. A player who, when acquired, had been to seven of the previous nine all-star games and had been top ten in MVP balloting six out of those nine years. A guy who wanted to be here, back in the big city that had been his home when he played for the Yankees from 2005 to 2013.

Yet on May 2nd, 2022 the Met designated that star who wanted to be here for assignment while still owing him 37 million dollars in guaranteed money. That’s a statement, the kind of sad moment that permeates the end of most careers of professional athletes that stay just a tad too long.

It’s not ridiculous to state that the vast majority of Mets fans supported the move. In fact, it is the most recent piece of evidence that the fledgling Steve Cohen, Billy Eppler regime is not going to be coerced by a name or held captive by the past. The Mets, as situated, are about winning and putting the best roster on the field that can do that, no matter the price or the minor league options available.

It’s also not insane to consider that Cano did have a positive impact on this team. When interviewed about what happened to Cano, knowing that Cano’s departure would get him more at bats and playing time, J.D. Davis used words like centerpiece, leader and icon when describing the man. Davis added that losing Cano “definitely takes a little bit of wind out of our sails.” Francisco Lindor called the departure sad and described Cano as a great guy and teammate. Lindor expressed that he had learned from Cano, a comment that has come from multiple Mets since 2019. One could say that these comments were the right thing to say and not to make much of them, but this isn’t what always happens when a legendary player’s career ends. Not all players are able to set aside ego and pride to be more a leader and teacher than a productive player on the field. Cano seems to have done that and seems to have been a part of that sense of work ethic and professionalism that radiates from this team this year. If that’s the truth, then Cano may have made a more significant impact on the Mets than can be quantified in his mediocre statistics since joining the organization.

In any case, the Mets made the right decision, but that doesn’t make it any less bittersweet. It’s difficult to see our heroes age and eventually move on. Most do fade this way. Few go out in fanfare or at the top of their game. Most blend into the ether, dogged by time, injury and ineffectiveness. Many of them also end in a place where whatever impact they had has faded years ago, forgotten by the new generation of fan who was a child when that player was at his peak.

Cano may fit that description on the field, but it does not appear to illustrate his impact as a leader and mentor. If those qualities helped the young core of this team grow and mature as both baseball players and teammates, and that leads them to be World Series contenders in 2022 and beyond, then we should celebrate Cano and acknowledge his time here. He shouldn’t be lambasted because of his connection to a bad GM who happened to be his agent before and after Van Wagenen’s time with the Mets. When reviewing the time that Cano stepped into the batter’s box in a Mets uniform, took position at second base or was seen smiling in the dugout, we should appreciate the moments we had with this legendary player.

So thank you Robbie Cano. It’s nice that the Mets will always be a part of your legacy, wherever your career takes you next.