The Mets biggest offseason splash was their decision to acquire Robinson Cano in a trade with the Seattle Mariners. Much like many of the Mets this season, he started off very slow in the first half, but figured things out towards the end of the season.
"We have a great team"
Robinson Cano believes this team has a lot of talent pic.twitter.com/iDtejKIP88
— SNY (@SNYtv) September 30, 2019
The decision to bring in Cano, along with Edwin Diaz, was met with much criticism. Cano had five years left on his expensive contract and was heading into his age-36 season. Brodie Van Wagenen felt bringing in Cano was worth giving up Jared Kelenic, the Mets first round draft pick from 2018.
Slow Start
Cano actually had a decent April, hitting .270 with three home runs, but hit a wall during May and June. He dealt with multiple injuries and looked uncomfortable at the plate leading to a .211 average with one home run in 34 games. To make matters worse there was drama surrounding Robinson Cano not running out ground balls. This led to Cano attempting to leg out a grounder, then promptly injuring his quad.
So Robinson Cano gets put on blast for not running out ground balls, is benched, told he needs to run out plays, runs out a play today…and leaves with left quad tightness.
You can't make this stuff up.
— Laura Albanese (@AlbaneseLaura) May 23, 2019
The lack of production from Cano and Diaz made Van Wagenen look like a fool for making the trade.
After the All-Star break, Cano came back with a vengeance. He hit .289 with six home runs and 14 RBIs. He was starting to look like the future hall of famer the Mets expected to acquire. Unfortunately, his hot streak was cut short as he pulled his hamstring on August 4th and at that point it seemed like his season was over.
Cano’s Leadership
In the month Cano spent on the shelf, he was always active in the Mets dugout. He could always be seen on the top step giving advice to young players like Amed Rosario. It paid off as the Mets made their charge towards the top of the wild card standings.
Get someone to look at you like Amed Rosario looks at Robinson Canó pic.twitter.com/r7b1tSolcE
— Stephen Josiah (@StephenJosiah13) August 21, 2019
Once Cano saw the Mets had a legitimate shot at the postseason, he did whatever he could to return. At 36, hamstring injuries are very serious, but Cano only needed a month to return. He hit a very respectable .277 when he returned and showed no ill effects from the injury. He gave the Mets hope he could return to All-Star form in 2020 and, who knows, he might be playing for former manager Joe Girardi.
Grades:
Offense: B-, He looked awful to start the year but rounded into form at the end of the year.
Defense: C, He is still as smooth as ever, but does not move the same way. Understandable as he gets older.
Baserunning/Speed: D, No speed, still a decent baserunner
Intangibles: A, Always handles the media well and was terrific with the young players
Overall: C+, It is hard to think he will play at an MVP level again, but in the second half we got the Cano we expected.
The Mets will be stacked with infielders in 2020 and to get the most out of Cano they will have to give him days off and play Jeff McNeil at second base to keep Cano fresh. Cano was 29-for-70 (.414) in the first game after receiving any amount of time off. To keep their major investment fresh, they should keep him around 130-140 games played, if healthy all year.