First base wouldn’t be an option for Cano with Carlos Santana under contract through 2020 and the Phillies seemingly motivated to move Santana to allow Rhys Hoskins to return to his natural position of first base. And even Hernandez may be traded to pave the way at second base for Scott Kingery. But the Phillies have a much cheaper, still productive option in Hernandez. Even at age-36, Cano still projects as one of the best offensive performers at the position for the next couple of seasons. Cano has been the second most, so this isn’t a debate about whether he would be an upgrade over Hernandez. Cesar Hernandez, who remains under team control through 2020, has been the ninth most productive offensive second baseman in baseball since the start of the 2016 season. It doesn’t help that Cano’s former teammate Mark Teixeira – who he threw the final out of the 2009 World Series to – said he “wasn’t surprised” after Cano was suspended.Ĭano also plays a position – second base – that the Phillies are deep at. Now, his entire career, even dating back to his first nine seasons in New York, is under suspicion. Adding a recent PED suspension in doesn’t help the leverage of the team looking to move said player.Ī year ago, Cano was viewed as a lock to eventually be a Hall of Famer. He was limited to 80 games after testing positive for failing a test for Lasix, “which is often used to help mask banned substances in urine tests.” It’s a difficult enough sell for the Phillies to take on the contract of a still very productive former superstar in their mid-30s that’s also owed a hefty sum of money – see: Greinke, Zack. Of course, Cano wasn’t limited to 80 games because of injuries (although he did break his hand in May). It’s fair to point out that most players don’t perform at a $24 million level (his average annual salary) from age 36 to 40, but any notion that he’s still not a very productive player simply isn’t true. In the 80 games Cano played in 2018, he was very productive, slashing. After a disappointing first season in Seattle in 2015, Cano hit 62 home runs, drove in 200 runs and was worth a combined 9.4 fWAR between 20. In terms of production, FanGraphs says that Cano has been worth over $120 million in production in his first five seasons in Seattle. The biggest reason that the Mariners are “very motivated” to move Cano is that he still is owed $120 million through his age-40 season in 2023. “What are those teams willing to part with in dollars to players” to get Diaz, an official involved in the discussions said. The Mets, Yankees, Braves, Phillies and Red Sox were expressing the strongest interest in Diaz - though not all of them were willing to take on Cano to acquire the reliever. So much so that the Mariners are - at minimum - exploring attaching star closer Edwin Diaz to a deal to further stimulate interest. The Mariners are “very motivated” to find a way to rid themselves of Robinson Cano and as much of the five years at $120 million left on his contract, according to an executive involved in trade talks with Seattle. He also says that the Mariners have an outside-the-box offer that could lower the total asking price for Diaz: Joel Sherman of The New York Post says that the Phillies, along with the New York Mets, New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox have been the most motivated pursuers of Diaz thus far. Diaz is more talented than Ken Giles, but it’s not that different of a situation as the Phillies were in during the 2015 offseason, when they ultimately traded a 25-year-old Giles to the Houston Astros as they continued to rebuild their team. While the Mariners are likely to have a high asking-price on Diaz – who is just 24 and can’t be a free-agent until after the 2022 season – they do appear to be rebuilding. While the Phillies have an extremely talented young reliever in Seranthony Dominguez, they appear to prefer to use him in an Andrew Miller-type role where he pitches in whatever the highest-leverage situation is between the starting pitcher leaving the game and the closer trotting out of the bullpen. It shouldn’t be that surprising – Diaz recorded 57 saves in 2018 and the Phillies appear to be in the market for a ninth inning reliever. This past weekend, MLB.com‘s Jon Paul Morosi reported that the Phillies have shown interest in Seattle Mariners star closer Edwin Diaz. But given how aggressive and financially flexible the Philadelphia Phillies appear to be, it’s a discussion worth having. Here’s an idea that may look asinine in a few years. Robinson Cano’s career is at a crossroads.
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