Mets are banking on Cano’s leadership

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Nothing is coincidence in a major- league clubhouse, so the new tenant for David Wright’s corner locker at First Data Field didn’t arrive there by accident. The only person it could be was Robinson Cano, who moved in Sunday, carrying with him expectations that he never really had to shoulder during his nine years in the Bronx.

Starting at the age of 17, Cano was groomed to be Derek Jeter’s double- play partner, with the Yankees correctly predicting he would grow into one of the sport’s most lethal bats at the second- base position. But in nine years wearing pinstripes, a stretch that included seven playoff appearances, five division titles and one World Series title, Cano was annually surrounded by an All- Star cast, financed by baseball’s highest payrolls.

“They teach you how to be a champion from the minor leagues,” Cano said Sunday.

But Cano isn’t a twenty- something MVP candidate anymore, insulated by Alex Rodriguez to his right in the clubhouse and Jeter to his left. On these Mets, Cano — now 36 — is the superstar, no longer tucked away in a remote corner of the Pacific Northwest, but back on a stage that’s mostly familiar yet still different in some significant ways.

And one clear distinction is the need for Cano to be a compass of sorts for this Flushing team, with Wright’s captaincy vacated and a group of younger, high- upside players that didn’t have the same winning curriculum in place. Not that Cano, in his first year, can be the presence Wright was as a clubhouse spokesman during his Flushing tenure. But as an eight- time AllStar himself, Cano has the stature to lead, and Brodie Van Wagenen didn’t pick up the back half of his former client’s 10- year, $ 240 million to blend in with the rest of the cast.

“Nobody is going to replace David Wright,” Cano said. “We know what he did, and sadly he had to end his career that way. I feel special that I get to have his locker. But this is a game you play as a team. I’m going to go out and do my best and give everything I got — yes, I will. But I don’t like to put pressure on myself that I have to go out and be that guy.”

Cano was suspended 80 games last season after testing positive for Furosemide, a banned diuretic that is used to help mask PEDs, so who knows what pressures he was feeling a year ago, even in a smaller market like Seattle. Back in December, when the trade was announced, Cano brushed aside the PED question by saying, “I want to focus on positive things. That’s a page I’ve turned already.” He was not asked about the matter Sunday.

If Cano struggles early on, the subject is sure to come up again, but at least he’s well- equipped to handle the armada of reporters. It won’t be a new phenomenon for him, and that’s part of what makes the Cano trade more appealing from the Mets’ standpoint. New York is an environment that he’s accustomed to, and already succeeded in, so it’s not like Van Wagenen has to sweat any adjustment process. Also, as his former agent, you’d have to think Van Wagenen has a decent read on Cano’s mindset coming over, as well as the extent of the PED situation the player went through last season. He also shared Mickey Callaway’s belief that the Mets needed someone like Cano to fill an apparent leadership void.

“We really did,” Callaway said. “David Wright, the captain, is gone now. To bring in a guy like Cano, a Hall of Fame- type player, that does everything the right way, thinks about baseball in a winning sense. We talked to Robby about baseball and he talked about winning. That’s all he cares about. He’s going to be able to deliver that message to all our young guys.”

Cano didn’t have to stick around Sunday afternoon — the first official full- squad workout is today — but he hung out in the clubhouse anyway, camped on the floor at the other end of room, next to the lockers of Jeurys Familia and his former Mariners’ teammate, Edwin Diaz. At one point, Cano called over Tim Tebow, and the group chatted for a while.

That’s the bonus behavior the Mets are seeking from Cano, aside from what they hope are the still glowing embers of those two Gold Gloves and five Silver Sluggers. “Coming back here, I’m looking forward to being back in the playoffs,” Cano said.

For the Mets, the feeling is mutual.