It is no big secret but so far the biggest free-agent signing of the MLB off-season has been Robinson Cano with the Seattle Mariners. The former Yankee signed with the Seattle Mariners for a contract worth $240 million over a 10-year period. The perennial All-Star leaves the New York Yankees, whom he has spent his entire nine-year baseball career with, in order to join a struggling Mariner offense. The move has been met by differing opinions by many, but one thing is for certain: the Mariners are going to be paying Robinson Cano $24 million every year for the next 10 years.
I have very mixed feelings on whether or not this Cano deal will work out for the Mariners in the long run. At first glance, this deal did not look good to me. My big problem with this contract is the year length. 10-year deals have been the big story for the past few years with players like outfielder Ryan Braun, first basemen Albert Pujols and shortstop Troy Tulowitzki among a number of other players. The only difference is that Cano is currently 31 years old which means we would be paying him into his 40s. This is normally past when players put out their best production. If Cano can keep a steady amount of production for the full 10 years, I will be extremely pleased and even happier with the deal.
When I first heard the deal, I was not happy on several accounts. However, when I started thinking about it more, I started to like it more and more. The Mariners needed help on offense and Cano is definitely someone that can help remedy that problem. Cano is also a veteran influence not only in the club house but a big influence in the middle of the batting order, too.While it is true that Cano is not projected to keep his offensive production past seven years, he is still going to be the best hitter on this Mariner batting lineup right now. There are many reasons to doubt the Mariners and Cano, but there are also a lot of reasons to be hopeful for this organization from the new acquisition.
The addition of Robinson Cano to the Seattle Mariners does signify one big thing. The Mariner offense is going to be a lot different than in previous years. Mariner fans can get their first glimpse of Cano earlier than spring training. Cano has been confirmed for Mariner Fan Fest in late January. It has been some time since the Ms have had a real playmaker on offense, so Cano could be the solution to this.