Robinson Canó DFA'd, Mets' Roster at 26

Mets cut ties with veteran infielder, beat roster crunch...

Per a team announcement released around an hour ahead of Major League Baseball’s 12 PM EST deadline to cut rosters from 28 to 26, the New York Mets have designated 39-year-old infielder Robinson Cano for assignment.

With an 8-for-41 line through April (-0.4 fWAR; -0.5 bWAR) and not many encouraging signs on the horizon, cutting ties with Canó was a somewhat expected move. Salary implications, be damned.

With his release, the Mets will absorb the two years (pro-rated) and approximately $37 million left on the 10-year, $240 million deal Canó signed with Seattle in 2013.

Canó’s tenure in Flushing was embattled, to say the least.

After being acquired with reliever Edwin Diaz from the Mariners for then-top prospect Jarred Kelenic and four other players in Dec. 2018, Canó struggled mightily through 2019, hitting .256/.307/.428 (94 wRC+; .291/.345/.447 from 2015 through his suspension-shortened 2018 campaign).

His year-long suspension after showing signs of life in the COVID-truncated 2020 season (.316/.352/.544, 142 wRC+) only exasperated things. Naturally, a slow start this season all but sealed Canó’s fate.

Ahead of Sunday’s victory over the Phillies, Mets manager Buck Showalter admitted the impending roster decision would be a complicated one, alluding to other optionable candidates such as Dominic Smith, Luis Guillorme, J.D. Davis, and Travis Jankowski as being in the conversation, though none were named individually.

Smith, of course, responded to the oncoming crunch with a 4-for-4 night in the Mets’ 10-6 win on Sunday night, securing a team-record seven consecutive series victories to start the season.

Despite the Mets’ ability to option the 26-year-old, Smith’s value — whether he’s hitting or not — presumably took precedent over dollars and cents. Makes sense.

The same goes for Davis (always a viable bat off the bench), Guillorme (Francisco Lindor’s only true backup), and Jankowski, who’s been a sterling depth addition so far.

With the talent that’s been assembled in Queens, Robinson Canó simply wasn’t essential to this team’s success anymore. Sometimes, you just gotta keep it moving.

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