The San Diego Padres are expected to release Robinson Cano on Thursday after he apparently refused a minor-league assignment, which begs the question: is this the last we’ve seen of Robinson Cano in the majors?
The 39-year-old will become a free agent but it is hard to imagine any team willing to sign him if he is unwilling to take a minor-league deal.
TUNE IN LIVE TO WFAN
In 24 games with the Mets and Padres this season, Cano is hitting just .149 (11-for-74) with a home run and four RBI. He went just 3-for-33 with a walk and 10 strikeouts in 12 games with the Padres, whom he signed with in mid-May after being released by the Mets.
His poor performance comes after missing all of the 2021 season due to a PED suspension – the second of his career – which happened after he appeared to have a resurgence in the COVID-shortened 2020 season where he posted an .896 OPS in 49 games.
Cano’s career has been a bit of an enigma. He is an eight-time All-Star, five-time Silver Slugger, two-time Gold Glove award winner and World Series champion. He has a career .301 batting average and 2,635 hits over 17 seasons.
If not for his two PED suspensions, which cost him 242 games, we could be debating Cano's potential Hall of Fame candidacy, as he would have likely been just shy of 3,000 hits and 400 home runs had he not missed that time.
Of course, there is the question of how much he benefitted from his PED usage.
It is unlikely we will see Cano announce any official retirement until after next season. He is still owed $21.25 million from the Mets in 2023 and $3.75 million from the Seattle Mariners, who traded him and the majority of his $240 million contract before the 2019 season.
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