The Seattle Mariners may be looking to trade any player on their roster as part of a total rebuild this winter, but it sounds like they are probably going to be stuck with Robinson Cano.
Cano, who served an 80-game suspension this past season for violating Major League Baseball’s performance-enhancing drug policy, is set to earn $24 million per year through the 2023 season. The Mariners would undoubtedly love to unload him, but one team executive told MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand that there is almost no chance they will be able to.
One executive said the Mariners have virtually no chance to trade Robinson Cano, who has five years and $120 million left on his contract. “They would have to attach a lot of talent to move him, and even that might not be enough.”
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) November 6, 2018
Cano still managed to hit .303 in 80 games this season despite being suspended for half the year, but he recently turned 36. Contracts for star players are almost always a disaster in the final years, but his could be particularly bad. The Mariners are going to have to pay Cano $24 million when he’s 40, and there probably isn’t a team in baseball willing to take on even the majority of his remaining contract.
The Mariners won 89 games last season and once again missed the postseason, which is something they have done every year since 2001. They are reportedly looking to blow up their roster this winter, but don’t expect Cano to go anywhere.
