The Mets could see an old familiar face this week in the Dirty South.
On Sunday, the Atlanta Braves acquired Robinson Cano from the San Diego Padres for cash considerations, and on Monday morning they selected him to the active roster, designating Phil Gosselin for assignment to make room.
Cano will hopefully bolster a Braves lineup short on left-handed hitting, as a platoon partner for Orlando Arcia at second base while the Braves wait for Ozzie Albies to return and a possible DH platooner with Marcell Ozuna. But, even if all he brings to the table this week is intel, that would be huge for a Braves team that is 28-8 since June 1 and now just 1.5 games behind the Mets in the division, in position to leapfrog the Amazins with a three-game sweep.
The 39-year-old has had an awful season so far, the ninth on the massive 10-year deal he signed with Seattle after leaving the Yankees. Cano was hitting just .195 with one home run in 12 games when the Mets designated him for assignment on May 2. He was picked up by the Padres after being released but was even worse in San Diego, slashing a measly .091/.118/.091 with one RBI in 12 games before being DFA’ed again.
Cano accepted a minor-league deal with the Padres’ Triple-A team and was stellar in 21 games there, slashing .333/.375/.479 with three homers and 20 RBI.
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In the interim, all he’ll cost Atlanta is the pro-rated portion of the MLB minimum salary of $700K, as the Mariners are on the hook for $3.75 million and the Mets are paying whatever is left of his $24 million salary (minus what he made from the Padres and will make from Atlanta and beyond).
Atlanta also reinstated Adam Duvall from the paternity list Monday and optioned ex-Yankees first baseman Mike Ford to Triple-A Gwinnett.
Follow Lou DiPietro on Twitter: @LouDiPietroWFAN