Mets veteran second baseman Robinson Canó was named to the Caribbean Series All-Star team this week as he helps the Dominican Republic compete for a championship.
The Dominican Republic team takes on Colombia on Thursday night for the crown. You can watch it on ESPN Deportes and there’s always a few links on YouTube as well.
Here’s the first All-Star team:
- Catcher – Christian Bethancourt (Panama)
- 1st Base – Reynaldo Rodriguez (Colombia)
- 2nd Base – Robinson Canó (Dominican Republic)
- Shortstop – Hanser Alberto (Dominican Republic)
- Third Base – Niuman Romero (Venezuela)
- Left Field – Felix Perez (Mexico)
- Center Field – Jose Siri (Dominican Republic)
- Right Field – Danry Vasquez (Venezuela)
- DH – Juan Francisco (Dominican Republic)
- Starting Pitcher – Tyler Alexander (Dominican Republic)
- Relief Pitcher – Luis Felipe Castillo (Dominican Republic)
- Manager – José Armando Mosquera (Colombia)
Other players with Mets ties playing in the Caribbean Series include Dilson Herrera, Alejandro De Aza, Raul Valdes, Johneshwy Fargas, Jordany Valdespin, Jenrry Mejia, Gabriel Ynoa, Edgardo Fermin, and T.J. Rivera.
Canó is hitting 450/.593/.600 with seven RBIs in six games during the Caribbean Series. He has been playing second base throughout the Series and for the latter part of the Winter Ball season.
In a little bit larger sample size during the regular season and playoffs in 31 games for the Estrellas Orientales, Canó hit just .270/.319/.357 with 23 RBIs. Combining the Caribbean Series and Dominican Winter Ball, the veteran has only one home run in 37 games. The lack of power has to be a concern for the Mets as Canó comes off his year long PED suspension.
Canó last played in the big leagues when he slashed .316/.352/.544 with 10 home runs in 49 games during the shortened 2020 season.
The Mets have Canó under contract for the 2022 season and 2023 season, and they will have to pay him $40 million over that span whether he’s on the roster or they release him.
The universal designated hitter looks like a lock to happen whenever baseball is played again, and that’s where I believe Canó will see most of his at-bats going forward.
