Robinson Cano: Mariners need a right-handed bat
When the Seattle Mariners signed Robinson Cano to a $240 million contract, it seemed safe to assume they were not done adding pieces. You don’t spend that kind of coin without a larger plan in mind. Seattle could still make some significant moves before the start of the regular season, but they really haven’t done much since signing Cano. And even he knows it.
Now that Cano is the face of the Mariners’ franchise, he has no problem playing general manager.
“I’m not going to lie. We need an extra bat, especially a right-handed bat,” Cano told Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. “We have many left-handed hitters. We need at least one more righty. You don’t want to face a lefty pitcher with a lineup of seven left-handed hitters.”
The Mariners had the worst OPS in baseball last year (.657) against left-handed pitching. They have added Cano and Logan Morrison to the middle of their lineup this year — both left-handed hitters. Cano also mentioned how he would like to see the team bring back switch-hitting Kendrys Morales to give the lineup some balance.
“He’s a switch hitter who’s got power,” he said.
Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik agreed with Cano, admitting that Seattle’s current roster is “a little lefthanded.” But Cano didn’t stop there. He also pounced on the opportunity to praise free agent starting pitcher Ervin Santana.
“He’s great,” Cano said. “The guy’s always pitching; he never gets hurt.”
The Mariners spent a lot of money on Cano, and handing out a contract that massive will come back to haunt them if they can’t assemble a well-rounded team. This isn’t the NBA. One player isn’t going to carry an entire team. Zduriencik and company have plenty of work to do. Everyone, including Cano, realizes that.
