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Robinson Cano

Padres Option Dinelson Lamet, Finalize Deal With Robinson Cano

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The Padres announced they’ve optioned right-hander Dinelson Lamet to Triple-A El Paso. The move clears an active roster spot for Robinson Canó, whose previously-reported major league contract has been made official. San Diego already had an opening on the 40-man roster.

It’s a disappointing and somewhat surprising development for Lamet, who’s only two years removed from a fourth-place finish in NL Cy Young award balloting. He made 12 starts and threw 69 innings of 2.09 ERA ball that season, punching out an excellent 34.5% of batters faced along the way. That seemed to cement him as a key piece of the organization’s long-term rotation, but he dealt with arm issues during the postseason that set him off track.

Lamet wound up not appearing in a playoff game that year, and he had a pair of injured list stints due to forearm inflammation last season. The second of those stints cost him more than two months between July and September, and he didn’t have time to return to the rotation once healthy. Lamet worked in relief for the 2021 campaign’s final month, and he’s begun this season in that role as well.

The 2022 campaign has been a disaster, as Lamet has been tagged for ten runs in 8 1/3 innings across ten appearances. He has struck out ten batters and induced swinging strikes at an excellent 16% clip, but he’s also issued seven walks and coughed up a pair of home runs. As he’s struggled, Lamet has fallen towards the bottom of the bullpen depth chart and been consigned primarily to lower-leverage work. He’ll now lose his roster spot altogether and head back to the minors for the first time since he was called up in May 2017 (aside from injury rehab assignments).

If the Friars had lost faith in Lamet for the moment, however, optioning him now is a sensible decision. Players with five-plus years of big league service cannot be optioned without their consent, and the 29-year-old is very near that threshold. Lamet entered the season with four years and 130 days of service, and he’s accrued roughly 36 more days this year. Players reach a full service year at 172 days, meaning he’s about six days shy of the five-year mark. Had the Padres kept Lamet around another week or so, they would no longer have been able to make a unilateral decision to send him down.

It’s possible Lamet’s tenure in the organization could be nearing its end regardless, as the Friars have reportedly discussed him in trade talks in recent weeks. Lamet is making just shy of $5MM this season, and San Diego’s luxury tax number is underneath the base $230MM threshold by the narrowest of margins. Whether anyone would pick up the entirety of Lamet’s salary after his difficult start to the season isn’t clear, but perhaps another team would take a buy-low flier to grab an obviously talented pitcher controllable through 2023 if the Pads are desperate to move him for payroll reasons.

Padres Sign Robinson Cano

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11:46am: The Padres are likely to finalize a deal with Canó tomorrow, tweets Dennis Lin of the Athletic. San Diego already has a vacancy on the 40-man roster, so they’d only need to make a corresponding 26-man transaction.

11:07am: The Padres are closing in on a deal with Robinson Canó, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post (Twitter link). Heyman’s colleague, Joel Sherman, reports (on Twitter) that San Diego is among a handful of teams that has expressed interest. According to Sherman, the eight-time All-Star is likely to sign a major league contract.

Canó was released by the Mets last week. New York had designated him for assignment on May 2, the date for teams to cut their active rosters from 28 to 26 players. Canó had started just under half the Mets’ games through the season’s first month, splitting his time roughly evenly between second base and designated hitter. He’d gotten off to a difficult start, however, hitting just .195/.233/.268 through his first 43 plate appearances.

The 17-year MLB veteran showed some worrisome statistical indicators beyond just the poor results. He made contact on a personal-low 73% of swings, a few points below this season’s league average. Canó also chased nearly half the pitches he was thrown outside the strike zone and hit more than 55% of his batted balls on the ground. At age 39 and coming off a full 2021 season lost to a second career suspension for performance-enhancing drugs, the Mets decided those early numbers were reason enough to move on.

One could also take the more optimistic view that Canó was merely shaking off some rust after the long layoff. A 12-game showing is an incredibly small sample off which to base any definitive conclusions — even regarding the elevated swing-and-miss and chase numbers. When Canó was last eligible to play before this year, he performed quite well. In 182 plate appearances during the shortened 2020 campaign, he hit .316/.352/.544 with ten home runs. That was the second of three seasons between 2018-20 in which Canó posted well above-average offensive production.

Of course, few players have matched Canó’s performance since he entered the league. He’s a five-time Silver Slugger Award winner and has finished in the top ten of MVP balloting six times in his career. Were it not for his pair of PED suspensions, he’d be a virtual lock for eventual enshrinement in the Hall of Fame. There’s little question Canó’s days as that kind of superstar are behind him, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility he could still be a useful hitter, particularly against right-handed pitching.

The Padres evidently believe that to be the case. San Diego has gotten incredible production from Manny Machado and Eric Hosmer in the season’s early going. Ha-Seong Kim, Jurickson Profar and Luke Voit each have unimpressive batting averages, but their combination of power output and (particularly in Voit’s case) huge walk numbers have propped up their overall performances. The rest of the lineup has struggled to varying degrees, and San Diego’s overall .227/.320/.364 team slash line is middle-of-the-pack.

The Friars are looking for affordable ways to bolster the offense. If they believe Canó is still an above-average hitter, there’s reason to roll the dice. The Mets remain on the hook for almost all of the $37.6MM still owed to Canó over the next two seasons under the terms of his original ten-year contract with the Mariners. If a deal were to get across the finish line, San Diego would owe him only the prorated portion of the $700K league minimum salary. That’s of particular import with the Friars just narrowly below the $230MM base luxury tax threshold, which they don’t appear eager to exceed.

Canó wouldn’t be a regular anywhere on the diamond for the Padres. Hosmer is a lock to hold onto first base so long as he’s hitting at this level, and Jake Cronenworth has second base accounted for. The right-handed hitting Voit is the primary designated hitter and figures to remain so, but Canó could spell him on occasion against righty starters while serving as a depth option on the right side of the infield.

Mets Release Robinson Cano

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May 8: As expected, Cano has now been released, per Tim Healey of Newsday.

May 2: The Mets designated second baseman Robinson Cano for assignment, according to an announcement from the team.  The club also optioned Yoan Lopez to Triple-A to get down to 26 players on the active roster.

The Mets owe Cano about $37.6MM through 2023, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post.  The Mets have set Cano’s eventual release in motion, so they’ll be eating the money owed to him.

Cano, 39, kicked off his career with nine seasons for the Yankees that included five All-Star appearances and MVP votes in six campaigns.  In a deal brokered by agent Brodie Van Wagenen with involvement from newly-certified agent Jay-Z, Cano left the Yankees for a landmark ten-year, $240MM free agent contract with the Mariners.  After a strong start to his Seattle career, things started going south for Cano in May of 2018 with an 80-game PED suspension.

Months later, Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto, who hadn’t been in the organization when Cano was signed, set to work trading him.  In December 2018, Dipoto sent Cano, reliever Edwin Diaz, and $20MM to the Mets for outfielder Jay Bruce, right-hander Anthony Swarzak, right-hander Gerson Bautista and prospects Jarred Kelenic and Justin Dunn.  At the time, the Mets’ new GM was none other than Van Wagenen.  The trade, which was more about Diaz than Cano for the Mets, came at the high cost of Kelenic, who went on to become one of the game’s top prospects.  For more on this disastrous trade, check out Jeff Todd’s superb YouTube video.

Though Cano was able to muster up a strong but brief 2020 season for the Mets, the hits kept coming with a 162-game PED suspension in November 2020 – not long after Steve Cohen bought the team and fired Van Wagenen.  With Cohen, Mets president Sandy Alderson, GM Billy Eppler, and manager Buck Showalter having no connection to the Cano deal, the clock was ticking if he didn’t produce this year after returning from his second suspension.

With a .195/.233/.268 line in 43 plate appearances, Cano struggled in his first big league action in more than 18 months.  As Tim Healey of Newsday and other Mets reporters have noted, even with Dominic Smith, J.D. Davis, and Luis Guillorme having minor league options, the correct baseball decision was to move on from Cano.  At 16-7, the Mets own the best record in the National League and chose not to let Cano’s contract dictate their roster.  Cano, who will eventually be released, will have the rest of his contract paid by the Mets less the prorated portion of the $700K league minimum if he hooks on elsewhere.

Cano indeed plans to continue searching for opportunities. Van Wagenen, who has again assumed a role in Cano’s representation upon joining Roc Nation Sports after being fired by the Mets, tells Sherman the 39-year-old “absolutely still wants to play. Given the right situation, he can still make a meaningful contribution for a team.”

It remains to be seen whether there’ll be a ton of interest in Cano’s services. In addition to the lost 2021 season and rough bottom-line numbers this year, he’s seen his contact rate plummet to a career-worst 73% in this season’s early going. He has chased nearly half the pitches he’s been thrown outside the strike zone, and he’s probably limited defensively to a rotation between second base, first base and designated hitter. It’s not the easiest profile for a team to roster unless they’re confident Cano can match or improve upon the .275/.321/.463 line he managed between 2019-20 as he gets further from his second suspension.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Showalter: McNeil In Line To Start For Mets At Second Base

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The Mets have signed each of Starling Marte, Eduardo Escobar and Mark Canha to multi-year contracts this offseason. They’re also set to welcome Robinson Canó back from a performance-enhancing drug suspension that cost him his entire 2021 campaign. The influx of players who weren’t available to the Mets last year reshuffled the offensive group and led to plenty of speculation about the future of some in-house options.

Specifically, Jeff McNeil, Dominic Smith and J.D. Davis have been oft-mentioned trade candidates. It’s still theoretically possible any of that trio finds themselves on the move, but first-year manager Buck Showalter told reporters this afternoon that he envisioned McNeil as the club’s primary second baseman this season.

Regarding whether he planned to divide second base duties between McNeil and Canó, Showalter said he viewed it as the former’s job. “I don’t think it will be split. Mac will get the majority [of playing time] there,” he said (via Tim Healey of Newsday). Asked about Canó’s role, Showalter replied “I think Robbie knows he’s not going to play second base for us as much as he wants to. But we hope he’s not a pure DH either. There’s the potential for him to play some first base if needed. I wouldn’t put him in the outfield.”

Obviously, the presence of Canó and Escobar would give the Mets options at second base were they to entertain trading McNeil over the coming weeks. Yet Showalter’s comments suggest it’s likelier he’ll remain in Queens and pick up the bulk of the playing time at the keystone. Projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz for just a $2.8MM salary this season and controllable through 2024 via arbitration, the 29-year-old McNeil could remain in Flushing for a while if the Mets elect to keep him around.

McNeil didn’t debut in the majors until his age-26 season, but he hit the ground running. His excellent bat-to-ball skills translated to the game’s highest level, and he posted a .319/.383/.501 mark in a bit more than 1000 plate appearances over his first three MLB seasons. Yet while McNeil continued to make plenty of contact last season, his results on batted balls went backwards. The lefty hitter has never been a huge power threat, but last year’s .109 ISO (slugging minus batting average) was easily a career worst. His batting average on balls in play — which had been north of .330 in each of his first three seasons — fell to .280. As a result, McNeil posted below-average offensive numbers (.251/.319/.360 with seven homers in 426 plate appearances) for the first time in his career.

Trading McNeil this winter might’ve been a sell-low move. It’d certainly behoove the win-now Mets if they held onto him and he regained his 2018-20 form. Escobar, who’s coming off a .253/.314/.472 showing between the Diamondbacks and Brewers, seems like he’ll primarily factor in at third base. That’d leave Canó bouncing between second base, first base and designated hitter, although he’s unlikely to be the top option at any of those positions.

Pete Alonso will obviously hold down first. If McNeil takes second with Escobar at third most days, that’d push both Davis and Smith into the corner outfield/DH mix. With a presumptive primary outfield of Canha, Marte and Brandon Nimmo, each of Davis, Smith and Canó could find themselves jostling for playing time if they’re all on the roster.

Davis and Smith would figure to have a decent amount of trade appeal, but it’s hard to envision New York finding a taker for Canó. He’s still due $48MM through 2023 ($24MM in each season). Releasing him wouldn’t save the Mets any money, though, so there’s little reason not to gauge the 39-year-old’s form if he’s willing to take on a bat-first role off the bench. It’s difficult to know whether he has anything left in the tank at his age and coming off a 162-game PED ban, but Canó didn’t show any signs of slowing down when last permitted to take the field. The eight-time All-Star hit .316/.352/.544 in 182 trips to the plate during the shortened 2020 season.

Mets Notes: Cano, Rotation, Manager

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Robinson Cano has now served the 162-game suspension he received a year ago after testing positive for Stanozolol, the second time he tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug in his career. That means he’s back on the Mets’ depth chart with two years remaining on his contract, making $24MM in each of 2022 and 2023. An optimistic Mets fan could be excited by his return, given Cano’s incredible 2020 campaign wherein he hit .316/.352/.544, an incredible wRC+ of 142 in his age-37 season. Of course, a pessimistic fan could say that “incredible” is the operative word and use the positive test as reason to expect reduced production in 2022.

Team president Sandy Alderson discussed the issue with Tim Healey of Newsday. “How he is received will depend on how he conducts himself and explains himself between now and spring training,” Alderson said. “A good deal of how the fans will respond is dependent on how he conducts himself.” When asked about how the clubhouse would respond, Alderson said, “I think the same will apply.”

Cano is now 39 and one year removed from MLB action, although he is playing winter ball in the Dominican Republic in order to prepare for the upcoming season. The fact that he’s still owed $48MM makes it difficult to see the club releasing him or finding a trade partner, placing them in the awkward position of having to put him back out there and hope that he can return to form. As Alderson said, “I don’t think there will be any change in his [roster] status between now and spring training.”

Alderson also discussed the team’s rotation, saying that they are looking for upgrades there. “Starting pitching is definitely something we need to address,” he said, stressing that they will be open to adding both at the top end of the rotation, as well as depth options. On paper, the rotation currently consists of Jacob deGrom, Taijuan Walker, Carlos Carrasco, Tylor Megill and David Peterson, who all dealt with either injury or underperformance in 2021. But there’s also the big unanswered question of Noah Syndergaard, who has until November 17 to decide whether or not to accept the $18.4MM qualifying offer the Mets extended to him. If he were to accept, he could potentially slot behind deGrom as the team’s #2, but after Tommy John surgery wiped out his 2020 and limited him to just two innings in 2021, he also comes with uncertainty. As for deGrom, who went on the IL with elbow inflammation on July 18 and never returned, “Do I expect Jacob to be back 100%? Yes,” Alderson said. “But as with all pitching, we’ll see.”

Uncertainty seems to be the running theme with the Mets, as they are also still looking to hire a manager and a general manager. As for the former, Alderson doesn’t seem particularly concerned, saying, “a list [of possibilities] is not that difficult to put together.”

AL West Notes: Mariners, Fiers, Adell, Whitley, Astros

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The December 2018 trade that sent Robinson Cano and Edwin Diaz to the Mets was a transformational moment in Mariners history, as it allowed Seattle to both escape a major salary commitment to Cano and also re-stock its farm system with some prime minor league talent in Jarred Kelenic and Justin Dunn.  Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto recently discussed the trade with The Athletic’s Corey Brock, looking back at how talks with the Mets developed, and how concurrent discussions with the Phillies about a Diaz trade helped make the Mets even more aggressive about swinging a deal to one-up their NL East rival.

More from around the AL West…

  • An MRI revealed hip inflammation for Athletics righty Mike Fiers, and manager Bob Melvin told Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter links) that Fiers will receive an injection and be rested for a couple of days.  Fiers making the Opening Day roster is “a little bit of a long shot” for now, Melvin said.  The manager said yesterday that A.J. Puk or Daulton Jefferies are candidates to fill in for Fiers if an IL trip is required, with Puk the favorite if he is able to get enough innings under his belt during Spring Training.
  • Jo Adell is day-to-day with a knee contusion and will work out today, according to Jeff Fletcher of the Southern California News Group (via Twitter).  Adell had to leave Saturday’s game after a collision with the outfield wall, but the star Angels prospect doesn’t appear to have suffered any major injury setback.
  • Top Astros pitching prospect Forrest Whitley will miss the 2021 season due to Tommy John surgery, but he won’t be moved from the 40-man roster to the 60-day injured list due to a roster rule, as The Athletic’s Jake Kaplan explains.  Because Whitley doesn’t have any MLB service time and because he was optioned to the minors before March 16, the Astros can simply place him on the minor league IL.  This means Houston will have to use a 40-man roster spot on Whitley all season, but the Astros are unlikely to burn a season of Whitley’s service time by moving him from the 40-man to the 60-day Major League injured list.

Alderson On Mets’ Front Office, Rojas, Cano, Conforto

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Newly named Mets president Sandy Alderson shed some light Monday on how the club will configure its front office and its coaching staff in 2021, as Anthony DiComo of MLB.com and Tim Britton of The Athletic were among those to report. The Mets will not hire a president of baseball operations, according to Alderson, who also revealed that Luis Rojas will stay on as their manager.

There have been questions about who will run the Mets’ baseball ops since they parted ways with general manager Brodie Van Wagenen. They will name a GM to replace him, and they have already interviewed roughly a half-dozen candidates, according to Alderson (via Britton). It’s unclear which individuals are in the running to fill that role, but former Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein and current Mets senior vice president John Ricco are not among them. It’s also unknown how long the Mets plan on taking to hire a successor to Van Wagenen.

As for Rojas, he became the Mets’ manager under their prior regime, but he’s a longtime employee of the club who is familiar with Alderson from the latter’s previous run in the team’s front office. The 39-year-old managed the Mets to an underwhelming 26-34 record in 2020, but he’ll get an opportunity to right the ship next season.

Second baseman Robinson Cano was one of Rojas’ most productive players in 2020, but he won’t play next year after receiving a 162-game suspension without pay last week for performance-enhancing drugs. The Mets are not considering releasing Cano, who’s due $48MM from 2022-23, “at this point,” per Alderson (via DiComo). However, Alderson admitted that could change “down the road.”

Like Cano, outfielder Michael Conforto is facing an uncertain future with the Mets. Conforto, 27, only has one season of arbitration control left, though Alderson stated (per DiComo) that the club will approach his camp about a contract extension sometime in the coming months.

“Yes, at some point, I’m sure we will broach that topic and take their temperature, and see where those things stand,” Alderson said.

Conforto is coming off a career year in which he slashed .322/.412/.515 (157 wRC+) with nine home runs across 233 plate appearances.  Barring an extension, Conforto should make anywhere from $9MM to $13.6MM in arbitration.

Robinson Cano Receives 162-Game PED Suspension

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Mets second baseman Robinson Cano has tested positive for a performance-enhancing substance, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports (via Twitter). The league confirmed minutes after Passan’s report that Cano has tested positive for Stanozolol. Because this is Cano’s second PED ban — he also tested positive with the Mariners back in 2018 — he’ll be suspended for 162 games. Cano will spend the 2021 season on the restricted list and will not earn any of his $24MM salary ($3.75MM of which was to be paid by the Mariners).

Robinson Cano | Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Presumably, if the 2021 season is shortened at all due to the ongoing pandemic, Cano’s suspension would carry over into the 2022 campaign. He’s still signed through 2023 at that same $24MM annual rate under the terms of the 10-year, $240MM deal he signed in Seattle back in December 2013.

The pair of PED suspensions will unquestionably sully what otherwise looked like a potential Hall of Fame career. Cano, an eight-time All-Star, has taken home five Silver Slugger Awards, two Gold Gloves and posted a superlative .303/.352/.492 batting line with 334 home runs, 571 doubles, 33 triples, 1257 runs scored an 1303 runs driven in. He’s also racked up 2624 career hits, which would’ve given him a chance at cracking the illustrious 3000-hit barrier were it not for this latest suspension. He’ll still technically have an outside chance, but a pair of 188-hit seasons at ages 39 and 40 don’t seem likely.

The 38-year-old struggled through a dismal 2019 season in Queens, hitting just .256/.307/.428 in a season that will be remembered for the juiced ball and record levels of offense throughout the league. Cano put together what looked to be a a terrific bounceback effort in 2020 with a .316/.352/.544 slash in 182 plate appearances, although this latest PED revelation obviously tarnishes the legitimacy of that production.

That strong showing notwithstanding, Cano’s suspension will work to the Mets’ benefit from a roster construction standpoint. Incoming owner Steve Cohen was already expected to be among the game’s most aggressive owners in an offseason where most clubs will be looking to recoup lost revenues.

Cano’s suspension not only opens up $20.25MM of unexpected payroll space in 2021 but also paves a clearer path for the Mets to put Jeff McNeil back at second base if they see fit. That makes for a cleaner alignment of J.D. Davis at the hot corner with a possible outfield alignment of Dominic Smith in left, Brandon Nimmo in center and Michael Conforto in right. Of course, given the aforementioned spending capabilities the Mets possess under Cohen, it’s quite likely that the current alignment will be altered by offseason additions, be they via the free-agent market or trade market.

Already, the Mets have been listed as a potential suitor for top free agents such as Trevor Bauer, J.T. Realmuto, George Springer, DJ LeMahieu and Marcell Ozuna. Similarly, they’ve been suggested as a speculative trade partner for the Mets when they inevitably move Francisco Lindor this winter. The additional payroll capacity only strengthens their ability to pursue such upgrades.

Mets Scratch Jacob deGrom, Reinstate Robinson Cano

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2:57pm: The Mets have also activated Robinson Cano, who’ll step into the lineup at second base. He had been on the injured list with a left adductor strain.

2:15pm: The Mets have scratched ace righty Jacob deGrom from his scheduled start this evening, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports on Twitter. Michael Mayer of Metsmerizedonline.com first tweeted about the possibility.

Full details of the situation have not yet been fully reported. But it seems a stiff neck is to blame for the absence, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter link).

Thankfully, it doesn’t sound as if this is expected to be a particularly serious problem. deGrom says an examination revealed no structural concerns; he was able to throw off the mound yesterday and is hoping for a fairly quick turnaround. (Via Sherman; Twitter links).

Injury Notes: Cano, Puk, W. Davis, M’s

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Let’s check in on a few injury notes from around the majors…

  • Mets second baseman Robinson Cano is hopeful that he’ll come off the injured list when he’s eligible on Aug. 14, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com tweets. Cano went to the IL on Tuesday with a Grade 2 left adductor strain, which halted what may have been a redemption story for the 37-year-old. While Cano endured a nightmarish first season as a Met in 2019, he got off to a blistering .412/.462/.559 start in 39 plate appearances this year prior to his injury.
  • Athletics left-hander A.J. Puk remains an exciting prospect for the club, but various arm injuries have prevented the 25-year-old from making a major league start. It doesn’t appear as if that will change in 2020. Manager Bob Melvin said that Puk, who’s working back from shoulder inflammation, is expected to pitch out of the bullpen if he takes the hill this year, per Shayna Rubin of the Mercury News. However, the A’s still don’t have a timetable for Puk’s season debut.
  • It appears the right shoulder strain that sent Rockies reliever Wade Davis to the IL over the weekend will keep him on ice for the foreseeable future. Manager Bud Black said Wednesday that Davis still hasn’t begun throwing yet, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post relays. Davis’ injury is the latest setback in what has been a horrid Colorado tenure since he signed a three-year, $52MM deal with the club going into 2018. The three-time All-Star has recorded a 6.18 ERA/4.67 FIP in 110 2/3 innings as a Rockie.
  • With right-hander Kendall Graveman on the injured list because of neck issues, the Mariners are calling on lefty Nick Margevicius to step into their rotation, according to manager Scott Servais (via Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times). The 24-year-old Margevicius picked up 12 starts as a Padre in 2019, but his year didn’t go well. He wound up with 57 innings of 6.79 ERA/5.64 FIP pitching and 6.63 K/9 against 3.0 BB/9.
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