With the Mets designating Robinson Cano for assignment, he will likely be released with more than a year to go on his massive contract that he signed with the Mariners prior to the 2014 season.
Cano is still owed $37.6 million through next season, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, which the Mets and owner Steve Cohen will be on the hook for, minus $700,000 if the eight-time All-Star were to sign on with another team for the league minimum salary.
The money New York will be eating to be rid of Cano is among the most ever by a franchise in baseball history, though it likely doesn’t result in much lost sleep for Cohen, the richest owner in baseball by billions of dollars.
Still, where does that $37.6 million rank among the most “dead” money in baseball history? To start, it is not the most ever. Back in 2017, the Red Sox designated Pablo Sandoval for assignment, after injuries derailed his Boston tenure after signing a five-year, $95 million contract. The Red Sox ate roughly $48.65 million in that deal, which, at the time, was believed to be among the most in major league history and rivaling Josh Hamilton, who was released that same season.
In 2015, after a drug relapse and an arbitrator ruling that he could not be suspended by MLB, Hamilton was traded by the Angels to his former team in the Rangers. The Angels paid his 2015 salary of $23 million, and Texas wound up eating a big chunk of his salary two years later when he was released.
Others include Chris Davis, who is getting deferred payments from the Orioles like Bobby Bonilla did with the Mets. Davis, the recipient of what is widely regarded as one of the worst contracts in MLB history, is getting paid just over $40 million.
Jacoby Ellsbury had roughly $21 million left on his deal when the Yankees released him, plus a $5 million buyout, and the two sides quietly agreed on a settlement after the Yankees filed a grievance against the oft-injured outfielder for rehabbing at an outside facility. Alex Rodriguez received about the same after he was released in 2016.
Back to the Mets, Johan Santana was paid over $30 million after injuries ended his career, and Mo Vaughn was paid nearly the same before injuries cut his career short as well. Not the same as a team moving on from a player that can still play, but a lot of money on the books for a non-contributing player nonetheless.
There are examples all across the sport (given that baseball contracts are guaranteed) of injuries or significant drops in production leading to teams paying for players no longer contributing to the team. From Prince Fielder to Carl Crawford, and all the examples listed above, Cano is far from the only player that will be paid a significant amount of money by a team that he no longer plays for. But Cano’s total is certainly among the highest.
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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