The Seattle Mariners and New York Mets are currently working out a deal that will send Robinson Cano and Edwin Diaz to Queens according to multiple sources. The players are all in place but the only thing left to be figured out is the cash exchanges amongst the clubs.
This move is receiving mixed reviews throughout the baseball community. Cano is an 8-time All-Star and 5-time Silver Slugger award winner but he is 36 years old and his contract isn’t up until 2023 when Cano will be 40 years old. He is owed $24 million in each of his remaining seasons. Cano also received an 80-game suspension for PED use in 2018 but posted good numbers in his return from suspension. He hit .303/.374/.471 in 80 games played last year. His glove is on the decline and because he is in the National League now, he won’t be able to be used as a DH. Landing Cano will be considered a success if he can produce two or three productive seasons in helping the Mets compete for a championship.
Edwin Diaz, on the other hand, is just 24 years old. The Mariners closer was an All-Star in 2018 and he led the Major’s with 57 saves and put up a 1.96 ERA with 124 strikeouts in 73.1 innings pitched. The Mets will have their closer of the future as Diaz is under team control for four more years.
In return, the Mets are believed to be sending over Jay Bruce, Anthony Swarzak, and prospects Justin Dunn, Jarred Kelenic, and Gerson Bautista.
This deal makes two things very clear. First, the Mets believe that their roster underachieved last season and are capable of contending in a division that isn’t too difficult to win. Secondly, they will have a good rotation as usual but they will look to add more pieces on top of Cano and Diaz and this deal can go either way for either team so only time will tell.
As if they haven’t hinted at it already, the Mariners are blowing up the entire roster. Anyone with any value on the Major League roster will likely be out the door sooner rather than later. They have the longest playoff drought of any team in professional sports and that does not seem like it will be ending any time soon. However, the team they had was never going to contend for a World Series so this is the right course of action for them.
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