Cano in funk, and so are Mariners
IN THE midst of by far his worst season, Robinson Cano opened up to USA Today to say he has been battling a stomach parasite since August that has left him weaker while also coping with the March death of a grandfather who was, among other things, a baseball sounding board for him.
Does this explain why the Mariners second baseman, in just Year 2 of his 10year, $ 240 million pact, is hitting just .252 with five homers and a .656 OPS after finishing in the AL MVP top six in each of the five previous seasons? Disturbingly, he is walking less, striking out more and chasing more pitches. Encouragingly, his 92.07 mph exit velocity ranked 38th among 338 players who have put more than 50 balls in play this season.
His travails, though, have contributed to the Mariners averaging their secondfewest runs per game ever and being six games under .500 through the weekend.
One scout who has seen Cano recently said, “I haven’t seen anything different in the swing, but he is hitting the ball on the ground more. But it still comes off his bat well when he squares it. You would have thought [ Nelson] Cruz ( hitting behind Cano) would have helped [ Cano] get more pitches to hit, but they still have a big problem getting guys on in front of him to force him to be pitched to.
“It does look like he’s pressing at times, perhaps frustrated that he still doesn’t get much to hit. I would expect him to have a better second half, but I worry about where he’ll be mentally if the club continues to struggle. This is a guy who is used to playing in pennant races, and you have to wonder where his focus will be if they are 10 games out by the deadline.”