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When the San Diego Padres brought in Robinson Cano, it was a low risk move, high reward move. They would pay him the $700,000 minimum and they might benefit off of a motivated player who the New York Mets decided to pay $30+ million to to not play for their organization.
The move was playing out as well as it could have in the first week or so but ever since then, he’s looked like the 39-year-old that he is and the Padres seem like they’ve had enough.
Finally.
The Padres are expected to request that Robinson Cano be optioned tomorrow, whereupon Cano would decline, making him a free agent again. @ByRobertMurray first suggested Canó’s time with the Padres may be coming to an end.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) June 1, 2022
I liked the move when it happened because Cano couldn’t disappoint me because I had no expectations but now that he is 0-for-20 in his last 20 at-bats, there’s no point in having him on the roster. The Padres have enough leaders. Manny Machado, for example, is one heck of a leader from what I’ve heard.
Thus, it would be better for general manager A.J. Preller to use Cano’s roster spot on someone who might be able to help the team more offensively. Who might that be? Brent Rooker and Nomar Mazara seem like the best in-house options right now.
Rooker was acquired along with Taylor Rogers on Opening Day and he’s hit nine home runs for Triple-A El Paso this season. The right-handed bat has major league experience with the Minnesota Twins and he can play left field if he’s not the designated hitter.
Mazara feels like the likelier candidate if Cano is indeed released tomorrow, as I talked about on today’s episode of Talking Friars (if you hit play below, the video will start where I discussed Cano’s lack of production).
To put it simply, Mazara has more major league experience and is playing better this season in Triple-A than Rooker. The 27-year-old would likely replace Cano on the 40-man roster and be an every day option in the outfield if Wil Myers continues to have issues with his knee.
After playing in the big leagues with Texas and Chicago from 2016-2021, Mazara signed a minor league deal with San Diego before this season and is hitting .559 with a 1.095 OPS. He’s gotten on base in every game he’s played in this season for the El Paso Chihuahuas and is currently on an 11-game hitting streak entering tonight’s action.
If Mazara doesn’t workout, then oh well. At least the Padres tried changing things up because it’s not like they’re getting much production out of Cano.
Reader Question
Who would you want the Padres to replace Cano with?
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