Robinson Cano is the crown jewel of MLB free agency this offseason.
The former New York Yankees slugger is now 31 years old, but that has not stopped him from reportedly asking for a 10-year, $300 million deal.
Cano has surpassed a .300 batting average, .345 on-base percentage and .500 slugging percentage during each of the past five seasons, but it’s hard to imagine any team will be willing to meet his asking price.
Rumors of Cano’s potential destination continue to make themselves known. Whether it’s the Yankees strategically playing the market or dark-horse contenders emerging, we’re just getting started with this saga.
Here’s a look at the latest batch of rumors surrounding the star second baseman.
Cano Taking a Trip Across the City?
Either Cano is very serious about getting as much cash as possible regardless of destination or he and representative Jay Z think they are slick.
Per a report from ESPN’s Adam Rubin, the star rapper and other representatives met with the New York Mets recently:
As Rubin notes, Mets general manager Sandy Alderson does not sound pleased with the asking price.
Then again, for a team that has not posted a winning season in five years, a superstar like Cano may be the final boost needed to an improving roster.
It’s hard to see a deal happening, and Yankees general manager Brian Cashman seems to agree per Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News. Not exactly what Cano was hoping for if the intent was to stir up a reaction in order to get the Yankees to cave in to his demands.
Yankees Targeting Other Players?
Were the Yankees so disgusted with Cano’s demands that they’re turning their attention to other players? Or maybe they are just not that concerned about the prospect of losing one of the game’s best second basemen?
Regardless of the answer, the Yankees are clearly not stressing about the situation. Instead, The Bombers are looking to upgrade other areas while they wait per Mark Feinsand and Michael O’Keeffe of the New York Daily News:
The Yankees are engaged with “five or six free agents,” team president Randy Levine said. The Bombers have serious interest in Carlos Beltran and Brian McCann, while Jhonny Peralta and Stephen Drew are also intriguing as they look to bolster the left side of the infield. And that’s not even mentioning Japanese import Masahiro Tanaka, the Yankees’ primary pitching target of the winter.
“We’re not waiting around,” Levine told the Daily News on Tuesday. “If guys start to come off the board, we’re going to sign them, which will affect the amount of money we have left for other players including (Cano).”
Is this posturing by the Yankees to get Cano back where he wants to be before the well runs dry?
Maybe. But more importantly, the Yankees simply don’t seem worried by much of anything when it comes to Cano. That’s a good move—the best teams don’t put the demands of one player on a pedestal and sacrifice other areas.
Has Cano Created a One-Team Race?
This is far from a normal free-agency bidding war.
As one American League executive told ESPN’s Jayson Stark, the entire process to this point has not made a lot of sense for anyone—except the Yankees:
It means that what he’s going to get is probably not going to be market-driven. If you had a situation where everyone remained objective and everyone played it smart and you had teams that thought they could sign Robinson Cano for $120 million, you’d probably have five or six teams in on it…
…It’s almost like you’re starting out by making the market more exclusive. So all those teams willing to spend $120 million don’t apply because they think this is headed for a different stratosphere.
What exactly was the point of demanding $300 million? Cano and Co. could not have possibly thought the Yankees would dole that out. Now we know why so little interest in Cano has been had—the financial side of things is something only the Yankees can meet.
Maybe this explains the trip to visit the Mets, which was initiated by Cano’s representatives, not the other way around per the above reports.
It sounds like it may be a while before anything gets done, but one thing is for certain—the Yankees have a firm hold on this struggle at the moment.
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