Met fans, hold on to your hats. Your new GM, and former player agent, Brodie Van Wagenen, is getting ready to pull the trigger on bringing Cano from the Mariners to the Mets along with Edwin Diaz who had 57 saves last year to lead baseball. OK, so Van Wagenen was Cano’s agent – maybe he knows something others don’t? Let’s consider:
- Cano is 36. He was suspended 80 games last year for PED use. He makes $24 million a year and has 5 years left on his contract. And did I say he was 36?
- Cano is made for the DH. True, he has been a work-horse over the years in terms of games played except for 2018, but he is now 36 with a contract that goes til he is 40.
- The Mariners will be throwing in some money here which should help. Diaz is due for arm issues after all of those saves this season – we have seen that before with over-worked relievers the following season (see Scott Proctor’s elbow). Plus do the Mets really need such a stud closer this season?
- As a Met fan, are you prepared to see Cano jog down the 1st base line on infield ground balls?
- Or are you envisioning hard hit line drives all over Citi Field? SU likes Cano and I have continued to root for him since he left the Yankees. Great hitter and was a gold glove caliber 2nd baseman. But you knew when he signed that contract that the last 5 years were not going to be pretty. I just can’t see him being productive without the DH spot as an option for him.
In case you missed it, Ronald Torreyes was traded to the Cubs who in turn, traded their super sub/pinch hit specialist to the Dodgers. It looks like Torreyes could get a real shot to play in 2019. Good for him. An easy guy to root for.
Corbin visited the Yankees yesterday. SU read that at his recent wedding, one of the toasts mentioned Corbin’s desire to come home and play in NY. SU believes the Yankees have to be the front runners here. So, if you sign him, do you still sign Happ? SU says yes – or maybe Eovaldi who had a strong 2nd half of the season.
What do you say Met fans? Dare to be great? Make the Mets great again?
Sports Update Intergalactic 
I am not a Met fan but I will weigh in anyway. I get the closer issue since their starting pitching is still their strength and maybe DeGrom et al will get some wins if they have a solid closer after they turn in 7 or 8 solid innings. But Cano sounds like a Jason Bay, Bobby Bonilla and Robby Alomar (to a lesser extent) deal that just turns bad after first year. On the other hand if Cespides is out again, Cano can paper over that hole for a year of two. I was never a Cano fan but that’s because I value hustle as a fan and he always looked like a dog out there (not Machado bad, but quite irritating)
Corbin is all but signed and sure I would sign Happ to one year. Who knows what Severino will look like and how far CC can go.
Machado to the Yankees is becoming more and more likely. The agents must have sent Michael Kay a nice Thanksgiving gift basket because he’s talking this up at every opportunity despite the fact that virtually every caller tells him its a bad idea. This is going to turn into another situation like Carmelo Anthony (twice) where the people pulling the strings get talk radio to talk about something enough to the point where management has to act against its better judgement. I hope Cashman can withstand this pressure.
Right off the bat we are seeing a problem with having a former agent slide into the GM spot. One thing that was obvious from the moment Cano signed with Seattle was that the deal was likely to work out poorly for both parties. It was a deal where the only obvious winner was the agent. So, no matter what the pros and cons of the current deal, you have to wonder if Van Wagenen is doing what’s best for the Mets or if he’s doing what’s best for Cano? The Mariners? Jay-Z?.
This might make the Mets a better team in 2019 and possibly beyond. I don’t question Cano’s durability as his style of play isn’t exactly taxing on his body. I can’t blame the Mets for trying something here. They think they have a legitimate shot and the division may be a relatively low point in terms of competition.
Good trade for the mets. Makes their team better. he plays 1st base then where his glove will still be dynamite but at least he doesn’t have to travel as far laterally. He will be very productive for at least 2 years. If the Mets get a third impact year out of him then its a very good deal. The money at the end of the day isn’t that bad if and when he becomes obsolete. If Matts pans out and Wheeler continues his steady pace upwards this coming year then they are really a catcher and one more im0act hitter away from becoming relevant. Good for them.
Patrick Corbin appears to be a good pitcher but again I’ll ask you… Is he beter than any of the Red Sox top 4 Starters if you include Evoldi? WE NEED AN IMPACT #1 (WITHOUT QUESTION) STARTER.
I’m not crazy about this trade on several fronts. Cano has been a great player but how many pennants has he won in the last 5 years as leader of the Mariners. Not sure he is a cancer type player but overall not a plus to the clubhouse. I do think he can be an above average 2B for the next 3 years and if the Mariners are covering the cost of years 4 and 5 you can rationalize the cost. However, these are the Mets, and you know that come 2022,3 the Wilpon’s will use that salary as an excuse not to spend(even though the Mariners paid part of his salary) Diaz is a great young closer but I am concerned about over usage last year coming back to haunt him. Relief pitchers are also almost always failed starters and very few tend to be consistent year after year. If he is the second coming of Mariano, then it is a steal. If he is the second coming of Familiar, then just sign Familar and keep the young prospects.
That being said, the big question for me is should the Mets be giving up Kelernik? I’m sure the M’s are insisting on him but how desperate are they to dump Cano. If we took back $30 Mil instead of a reported $60 Mil could we have done the deal with Dominic “Cheeseburger” Smith instead? From a long term strategic view would we be better off including McNeil instead of Kelernik? Cano is going to play 2B for the next 2-3 years and i’m not sure how much of a value add McNeil is at 3B. Kelernick is on the fast track and could be ready to slot in for Cespedes when his contract is up in 2021. As much as I love the way McNeil plays, I think that would be a better “Win now but also build for the future” move for the Mets. I always believe that a team’s roster should be made up of approximately 1/3 cheap 20-25 year olds, 1/3 26-30 year old prime arbitration type guys and 1/3 30+ costly veteran stars and older bench character guys. It makes for the best sustainable and consistent chance for winning.
At least BVW has the Mets on the back page and the talk of WFAN. That sells tickets and I’m sure makes the Wilpons very happy.
Howard, waiting for the college football playoff edition. Any Ohio State fans looking to give me 14 points vs Northwestern on Saturday? I think the Wildcats may have had a better chance vs Michigan but I do expect them to keep the game close. It would be quite the upset if they can pull it off and would at least save us the controversy of an Oklahoma/ Ohio St playoff decision. Go Cats!