Robinson Cano Will Get About $40M to Not Play for the New York Mets

They apparently outbid the Angels, who offered him only $30 million not to play.

Jokes aside, this is the inevitable product of the clubs’ willingness to give players long-term contracts that extend beyond their useful playing years. Then the clubs’ only choices are to take up a roster spot with a fading (or faded) star, or to pay them not to play. It’s difficult to sympathize with an owner in this situation because they agreed to the contract in the first place, or traded for the guy knowing the reality of the situation.

Cano was a terrific player about a decade ago. In one 5-year period he never finished lower than 6th in the MVP balloting. His lifetime average is .302 with more than 900 extra base hits among some 2,600 total hits. He is among the top ten of all-time in WAR for a second baseman. That is HOF caliber for a second baseman. In fact his stats are better than most HOF second basemen. There are 12 second-basemen in the HOF with a lower lifetime WAR than Cano, and only seven above him. There are good explanations for some of the guys below him: Jackie Robinson’s career was short for reasons we all know; Bill Mazeroski is not in the HOF for his offensive prowess, etc. But even if you scratch those exceptions, he is still better than, or at least equal to, the average HoF second baseman. That’s mighty good.

But he was 36 in his first season with the Mets, so the Mets agreed to pay him about $20 million per year for ages 36-40. That was a big gamble.

Cano is not the only one to receive the largesse of owners agreeing to poorly conceived contracts.

The Angels could have paid Albert Pujols not to play, but they elected to pay him an average of $24 million per year for ten years to be a first baseman / DH with below-average production for those jobs. His line with the Angels was .256/.311/.447. That on-base percentage was not only lower than a typical first baseman, but was also below the major league average for any position in that period. (And that average includes National League pitchers!) In the final half of that contract period, his slash line was .242/.292/.408, which equates to an OPS+ of 87. (That means his production was 13% lower than that of a theoretical average major leaguer in the same offensive context). A young player could keep a place in the line-up with numbers like that only if he happened to be a slick-fielding middle infielder. A young first baseman with that kind of MLB production, in lieu of $24 million, would be handed a bus ticket to Texas to suit up for the El Paso Chihuahuas.

7 thoughts on “Righteous bucks!

  1. Brody Van Wagenen traded for Robinson Cano because he had to take on his contract if he wanted to acquire Edwin Díaz, a then 24-year-old closer with 57 saves in the prior season. Diaz struggled in his first season in NY, but has been effective since them. But all that said, there is a reason Steve Cohen fired Van Wagenen as soon as his purchase of the Mets was final.

  2. The Indians ended up being the winners when Manny Ramirez went to Boston – no way they would have had their mid-00s resurgence which involved several extensions- and they will probably certainly end up being the better for Lindor going to the Mets, as in no way would they have been able to keep Jose Ramirez, who had become the better player of the two.
    And then there are the Nats, who, with the Strasburg and Corbin contracts, seem to have little chance of extending Juan Soto.
    Trouble is that the players involved never seem to grasp that a contract is supposed to reflect future production than being a thank-you for past services. I can still remember Pujol’s wife whining about how the Cards were disrespecting him.
    Not baseball, but rest in peace Guy Lafleur.

    1. Coincidence? Pujols got divorced about the same time the season started.

    2. I get what you’re saying, but on the other hand, I get tired of people talking about how players don’t have any “loyalty” to their teams an are pilloried when they leave a team. Loyalty works both ways.

      And, as Scoop pointed out, no one’s putting a gun to ownership’s heads and making them sign these deals. Hard to blame a player for taking what’s offered.

  3. Lifelong Cardinal fan I was glad Pujols DID NOT take a nearly similar offer to stay in St. Louis. It would have crippled the team like it did the Angels who had no money left over to get pitching. That said, it was a good move to get Viejo Hombre for one year for sofa change. The team will make it back on ticket sales for the farewell tour.

  4. The Mookie Betts’ contract already looks suspect. Just imagine that one in 5 years. They may end up paying him 200 million to not play.

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