What comes next for New York Mets after Robinson Canó DFA?
With a need to reduce the size of their roster by Monday’s deadline, the New York Mets made the decision on Monday morning to designate veteran slugger Robinson Canó for assignment. The question now becomes what repercussions (if any) will the move have on the team moving forward.
Will the decision to remove Robinson Canó from the New York Mets roster sidetrack any early-season momentum built by the franchise?
As our own David Hill discussed in this article, the countdown seemed to be ticking for the 39-year-old Canó with an unproductive slash line of .195/.233/.268 in 43 plate appearances (41 at-bats) so far this season. And those numbers come after Canó missed all of last season while serving a suspension after testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug for the second time in his career.
In his three seasons with the Mets, Canó has put together a solid slash line of .269/.315/.450, so his impacts with the team prior to the suspension are there. He has also apparently made an impact on the clubhouse as well … and that’s where any potential issues could boil up.
In an interview with The New York Post, Francisco Lindor said he “wouldn’t be happy” if the Mets parted away with Canó.
“He’s a good teammate, a good person and obviously he’s got a great track record and we all know what he’s capable of doing,” Lindor said in the interview. “I don’t care how old he is, the mind is still fresh and he can still hit.”
The problem, however, was that Canó wasn’t able to prove Lindor’s words to be true on the field so far this season. With the Mets rolling to the best record in the National League at 16-7 and still not dropping a series to start the campaign, things are going well. And part of that success can be tied to Jeff McNeil’s hot start (.361/.418/.528) at second base and the Mets finding hitters to rotate through the designated hitter position who provided more pop than Canó.
Dominic Smith has shown he can be a left-handed bat who is more dependable this season than Canó. Smith went 4-for-4 on Sunday night in a win over Philadelphia playing first base and allowing Pete Alonso to slot into the DH role. With a deep, productive roster, the Mets could afford to pull the plug on Canó and the $24 million he is owed for each of the next two seasons.
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The Mets are scheduled to open a four-game series at home against the Atlanta Braves on Monday, the first meeting of the season between the two teams expected to battle for the top of the National League East. The decision to DFA Canó will likely dominate pregame conversation, but will it carry over to New York’s play? That’s perhaps the biggest question that Mets fans will want to see answered on Monday night against the defending World Champions and moving forward.