Baseball

Mets release eight-time All-Star Robinson Canó to free agency

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The New York Mets released second baseman Robinson Canó on Sunday, May 8. According to multiple reports, no MLB teams are willing to have Canó on board for the remainder of his contract through waivers, which means the Dominican professional is now a free agent.

The former Yankees, who signed with the Mets in 2019, still have two years remaining in his 10-year, $240 million contract he made with the Seattle Mariners in December 2013. In a report by Seattle Times’ Ryan Divish, the Mariners owed the left-handed batsman $7.5 million, while the Mets will have to pay $37.5 million. It is understood that the franchise had to trim down its rosters to 26 from 28.

Canó with Mets

Prior to signing with the Mets, Seattle had signed him in 2013 to a long-term contract. Apparently, the right-handed pitcher was offered a shorter deal, a seven-year-long contract worth $175 million to return to the Yankees, but the professional player refused.

He spent five years in Seattle, adding three All-Stars to his resume and hitting .296/.353/.472 alongside 107 home runs and 411 RBIs. On May 13, 2018, the 39-year-old’s right hand was hit by a pitch in a game against the Detroit Tigers. He had to leave the game.

He was diagnosed with a fracture in the fifth metacarpal bone in his right hand. Two days later, he was suspended for 80 games after testing positive for Furosemide, which violated the league’s performance-enhancing drugs policy.

He returned to the team on August 14, only to pack his bags to join the Mets in December 2018. Canó was involved in a choke-full of player transactions between Seattle and New York. Canó, Edwin Díaz, and a total of $20 million were sent to the Mets in exchange for Jay Bruce, Jarred Kelenic, Anthony Swarzak, Gerson Bautista, and Justin Dunn.

During his first at-bat as New York played the Washington Nationals, Canó made a home run off to Max Scherzer. However, after a slump in the first half of the season that was marked by a high strikeout rate before he entered the injured list, he came to be dubbed the Mets’ miss-calculated trade.

The former Mariners only slashed .256/.307/.428, 13 home runs, and 39 RBIs in 2019, his career-low and a steep decline after he wrapped his run with Seattle in the previous year with .303/.374/.471, 10 home runs, and 50 RBIs.

MLB Trade Rumors’ Connor Byrne described the Dominican professional as “a massive misstep”, while Mike Mazzeo of Yahoo Sports dubbed him “an unmitigated disaster”.

That being said, he played for the Mets for three years and had to part ways with the franchise on May 8 this year. Previously, he was suspended for 162 games, or the entire 2021 season, after testing positive for Stanozolol, which marked yet another violation of the league’s performance-enhancing drugs policy.

Canó did not play regularly for the Mets, as he would come off the bench at times and only received occasional opportunities. All in all, he slashed .269/.315/.450, managed 24 home runs, and 72 RBIs in a total of 168 games he played for three years in New York.

Robinson Canó

Robinson José Canó is a Dominican-American professional baseball second baseman for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball . A native of San Pedro de Macorís, Dominican Republic, (wikipedia)

New York Mets

The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. (wikipedia)

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