The Seattle Mariners may have topped the New York Yankees‘ offer to free agent second baseman Robinson Cano according to Anthony McCarron. Cano has dropped his asking price into the $250 million range, but that is still nowhere close to the Yankees’ offer of $160 million.
After the Yankees signed Jacoby Ellsbury, it’s an open question as to whether they will be willing to meet Cano’s demands.
Adding Cano would be a huge splash for the Mariners, who have not made the playoffs since the 2001 season. Other than Felix Hernandez, the team does not have significant money locked up long-term.
Over the last three years, only Mike Trout, Miguel Cabrera, and Andrew McCutchen have produced more fWAR than the 19.1 accumulated by Cano.
While Cano is 31, he isn’t showing any signs of aging.
This last season was one of his best, as he managed a career-best .383 on-base percentage to go along with 27 home runs. To go along with his power bat, Cano plays solid defense at a premium position. Also, he’s been extremely durable, playing at least 159 games in every season since 2007.
Steamer Projections thinks Cano will continue to produce at his current level, as it calls for a .299/.367/.499 line with a 136 wRC+ and 5.4 fWAR.
If the Mariners do reel in Cano, look for them to go after pitching help either by trading a Nick Franklin and/or Dustin Ackley or making a run at Matt Garza.
$200 million or so sounds like a lot of money, and it is, but spending that money on a slugging second baseman such as Cano is a much better investment than throwing it at someone like Prince Fielder or picking up the contract of oft-injured Matt Kemp.
