Cano sign with Seattle. Good move for a team needing a leader and face of the franchise.
Mariners To Sign Robinson Cano
By Steve Adams [December 6 at 11:15am CST]
11:15am: Jim Bowden of ESPN and MLB Network Radio tweets that Cano receives a full no-trade clause as part of his deal.
9:57am: The Mariners and Robinson Cano are in agreement on a 10-year, $240MM contract, according to Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportes.com (Spanish link). The contract, negotiated by CAA's Brodie Van Wagenen and Jay-Z of Roc Nation Sports, will tie Albert Pujols for the third-largest deal in Major League history.
Cano-Robinson
Reports from earlier today indicated that talks between Cano and the Mariners had crumbled after Jay-Z suddenly upped his demands back to $252MM when the Mariners were prepared to offer $225MM over nine years. The two sides appear to have reached a middle ground, with Cano's camp dropping by $12MM or so and the Mariners agreeing to add a tenth season at $15MM. Seattle's first-round draft pick is protected, meaning that GM Jack Zduriencik will only have to forfeit his second-round pick in order to bring Cano to the Emerald City.
Cano, who turned 31 in October, batted .314/.383/.516 with 27 home runs in 2013 and has averaged a batting line of .314/.369/.530 and 28 home runs over the previous five seasons. Paired with plus defense at second base, Cano has been worth an average of 6.8 (Baseball-Reference) or 5.8 (Fangraphs) wins above replacement. He's also one of baseball's most durable players, having missed just 14 games over the past seven seasons.
By joining the Mariners, Cano likely displaces one of Brad Miller or Nick Franklin. Miller impressed by batting .265/.318/.418 with eight homers in 335 plate apperances and playing solid defense at shortstop as a 24-year-old rookie in 2013. Though Franklin entered the season with more prospect hype, he wilted down the stretch and finished with just a .225/.303/.382 batting line. The 22-year-old Franklin spent nearly all of his time at second base this season (he played just 20 innings at shortstop), so it would seem that he is more likely to be the one who is displaced by Seattle's blockbuster addition.