The Mariners have been tearing down their roster. They dealt Mike Zunino and James Paxton in recent weeks and Jean Segura‘s name has been bandied about. It appears though the Mariners want their next move to be Robinson Cano.
It was reported earlier this week by Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic that the Mariners are actively shopping Cano. This morning, Andy Martino of SNY said the Mets are aggressive on the Cano front. He later reported that the Mets were hoping to Jay Bruce as part of a deal back to the Mariners in exchange for Cano plus Mitch Haniger or Edwin Diaz.
Joel Sherman of the NY Post says the Mariners are so motivated to moving Cano that they’re even exploring the possibility of adding Edwin Diaz to a potential deal. Sherman added, “The Mets, Yankees, Braves, Phillies and Red Sox were expressing the strongest interest in Diaz — though not all of them were willing to take on Cano to acquire the reliever.”
It was reported that the Yankees tried sending Jacoby Ellsbury to the Mariners but wanted more money as well in exchange for Cano. The Red Sox don’t seem likely to bloat their luxury tax even further to add Cano to the roster especially since Dustin Pedroia is getting paid.
This would leave the Phillies and Mets as the best possible path for the Mariners. The Phillies want to spend a lot of money this offseason and go being the wrecking machine they were from 2008-2011 but Cano would have to waive a no-trade clause to go to Philly. Cano would also have to waive it to come to New York but it seems likelier that he does it to go to the city that he once played for.
It remains to be seen whether or not the Mets continue exploring this option, but the odds of a deal happening are increasingly likelier than they seemed just 24 hours ago. The Mets could insist on Haniger which might cost them a better prospect but ultimately, there appears to be an avenue to complete the deal.
