The San Diego Padres are likely to request that second baseman Robinson Canó accept an optional assignment to Triple-A El Paso, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post.
Heyman suggests the eight-time All-Star would refuse to go to the minor leagues, as is his right as a player with five-plus years of MLB service time.
If San Diego follows through with removing Canó from the active roster, he’d have the right to elect free agency. That seems to be the likeliest outcome, which would end his time in San Diego after just 11 games.
The Padres just signed Canó to a big league deal last month, finalizing the agreement on May 13. That came on the heels of the New York Mets designating the five-time Silver Slugger winner for assignment and releasing him, one year removed from a 162-game PED suspension. In so doing, New York ate the approximate $37.6M remaining in guaranteed commitments on his contract through 2023. The Padres rolled the dice on Canó for just the prorated portion of the $700K league minimum salary.
Canó had a rough start with the Mets, hitting .195/.233/.268 through 12 games. San Diego chalked that up to a small sample and hoped Canó would rediscover better form at the plate, but that hasn’t happened in the past couple weeks.
Through 33 plate appearances, the lefty-swinger is hitting just .094/.121/.094. He’s drawn one walk against 10 strikeouts and has yet to tally an extra-base hit.
At 30-20, the Padres are 3 1/2 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West. They’re firmly in Wild Card position at the moment and have their sights set on taking the division. With no way to send Canó to the minors without his consent, they’re reportedly willing to watch him depart the organization entirely.
Canó has seen occasional starts at second base, freeing up Jake Cronenworth to bounce around the diamond a bit more. If San Diego grants Canó his release, Cronenworth would likely head back to the keystone on a more or less everyday basis. Eric Hosmer, Ha-Seong Kim and Manny Machado make up the remainder of the typical starting infield. The team is hoping star shortstop Fernando Tatís Jr. can make his return either later this month or in early July.
Meanwhile, the 39-year-old Canó would head back to the open market and explore other options. The Mets will continue to pay all of his salary, so there would be no financial risk for a team in adding him.
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