New York Mets second baseman Robinson Cano hasn’t found his groove at the plate just yet, but, as per Matt Ehalt of Yahoo Sports, the 36-year-old isn’t all that concerned and feels he’s very close to busting out.
Cano, a career .282/.336/.466 hitter over the first month of the season (324 games played in March and April), is slashing just .182/.237/.327 this season (59 plate appearances) with a 22% strikeout rate (career 12.5% mark). That’s alarming, but nothing to be overly concerned about.
His .304/.354/.492 slash line with 162-game averages of 24 homers, 42 doubles, and 96 RBIs (as well as 148 games played per season) over his 15-year career, including a .303/.374/.471 line in 80 games of a suspension-shortened 2018 for Seattle, show just how consistent of a hitter Cano is, regardless of age. He’ll come around.
His two home runs this year have come at extremely opportune times and his fielding prowess at the keystone position is as impressive as ever, but with the price tag Cano has attached to him, the Mets and their fans surely expected more of an offensive punch to their lineup than this.
“The results [are] not what I want, but at the plate [I feel good]. I’ve been in this situation before and it’s too early for me to start worrying about the numbers,” Cano said. “We’re winning, that’s all that matters.”
That phrase seems to be coming out of a lot of Mets’ mouths these days. Love it.
It’s not that the Mets have suffered because of Cano’s early ineffectiveness at the plate, but his expected level of contribution could put this group over the top.
The Mets’ 88 runs scored is good for fourth-most in the majors heading into Sunday’s games, their .345 weighted on-base average ranks seventh, and their 116 weighted runs created plus rating is tied for sixth in baseball.
A productive Robinson Cano in the three-spot, behind Pete Alonso (.360/.439/.860, seven doubles, six homers, 17 RBIs) and ahead of an MVP-caliber (so far) player in Michael Conforto (.340/.453/.623, six doubles, three homers, 13 RBIs) could result in some very exciting ripple effects all the way through the Mets’ batting order.
If Brandon Nimmo is indeed breaking out of his slump, Amed Rosario continues to make evident progress — the strides he’s taken under Cano’s tutelage are evident, in my opinion — and Jeff McNeil continues to rake at the pace he has, folks, we could have an offensive powerhouse on our hands.
And it all comes right back to Robinson Cano. He’s a consistent, veteran presence in a lineup littered with tons of talent but not a whole lot of experience. His success is imperative to the Mets’ success. And it seems he’s only focused on one thing right now — getting better.
“It’s not that I feel lost at the plate, if that, I’d feel worried about it. I’ve been chasing some pitches. Last night, I hit the ball [well] three times and only got one hit,” Cano told Ehalt. “I’m not worried or concerned. I’m going to work and do my thing and keep my head up.”
Mets hitting coach Chili Davis added a vote of confidence and a broad progress report on Cano, again from Ehalt, and doesn’t seem to be stressing out over the 36-year-old’s early-season lull either.
“I see a guy who’s getting pretty close to breaking out. He’s doing all the right things, he’s working, checking his videos,” Davis said. “I thought [Friday] he had some really good swings. I don’t worry about him. He knows what he’s doing.”
For all parties involved, the sooner Cano breaks out of his funk, the better. But, based on Cano’s career-long track record, waiting for his resurgence doesn’t feel like an “if”, but more of a “when” situation.
