Seattle Mariners’ Cano: Slow start or down year?
A rough April can be labeled a slow start. But when that start extends well into May and flirts with the beginning of June, it begs the question — will this become a down year? Such is the case with Robinson Cano of the Seattle Mariners. His ball club needs him to wake up at the dish so the team can challenge for a postseason appearance for the first time since 2001.
One must wonder if the M’s second baseman is dealing with some sort of ailment the team is keeping under wraps. It’s no secret players play through mild pain or inconveniences from time to time, but nothing on Cano’s status has been reported as of late. For a 32-year-old with a lifetime .308 batting average, there’s really little excuse as to why he is currently hitting .247 on the season.
Cano’s batting average at present represents the second lowest mark of his career entering the final week of May. In 2008 with the New York Yankees, the second baseman was hitting .229. Of course, plenty of things were different then. Cano had a salary that season $21 million less than what his 2015 rate is. He also had four home runs and 19 RBI through May 24, so power contributions were still present. Right now, he has one home run and 11 RBI.
Safeco Field is no hitters park like the old/new Yankee Stadium was/is. But an MVP caliber bat finds ways to adjust and make the best of their resources and skill set. In 2015, Cano seems to be struggling mightily with that concept. Even despite the incredible success of Nelson Cruz in Seattle, Cano in no way seems to be a benefactor.
In his first season with the Mariners at the same time last year, Cano was hitting .323 with two home runs and 28 RBI. That was with far less protection in the lineup, too. Where there is smoke, there’s usually a fire. Despite the low batting average, Cano is hardly getting on base right now in contrast to what is expected from him. His .290 OBP is down 66 whole points from his career average of .356. Even still, his .382 mark from last season was the second highest single OBP mark of his career after the .383 he recorded in his final season as a Yankee.
The well documented dip in Cano’s power numbers since becoming a Mariner is unpleasant to stomach. But the lack of contact is unacceptable, especially for someone who is easily the highest salaried player at his position in MLB and the seventh best paid overall.
A slow start is what the average Mariners fan will postulate with an equal dash of skepticism and optimism thrown in for good measure. But to the wiser, this was a poor (though possibly necessary) contract by GM Jack Zduriencik. The club needed to show fans they were invested in a long-term plan, so Mariners paid a lot of money to bring Cano to the Pacific Northwest. But this is no longer a slow start. It appears to be a down year and a possible sign of things to come.
More from Call to the Pen
- Philadelphia Phillies, ready for a stretch run, bomb St. Louis Cardinals
- Philadelphia Phillies: The 4 players on the franchise’s Mount Rushmore
- Boston Red Sox fans should be upset over Mookie Betts’ comment
- Analyzing the Boston Red Sox trade for Dave Henderson and Spike Owen
- 2023 MLB postseason likely to have a strange look without Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals
Cano is a career .294 hitter in the months of March/April in baseball’s regular season. He’s not much worse in May, registering a .285 lifetime clip. His career splits for the first half and second half are .300-115-479 and .318-104-436, so he can’t even be considered a slow starter from an historical perspective.
In 2008 when Robinson Cano as hitting .229 at this time of the season, he went on to hit .271/.305/.410 with only 14 home runs and 72 RBI. His oWAR of 1.3 was the lowest of his career. It was unquestionably a down year for the six-time All-Star. However, for the Yankees, the downturn in production was much more tolerable with a $3 million salary attached to a 25-year-old name.
In 2015 with the Seattle Mariners, the club does not want to see regression in the second season of a 10 year, $240 million deal. Progression would be nice, consistency on par with past years of production would be favorable. But regression? Regression is an unwanted trend that benefits neither party involved.