Mets cut Cano with $45M left on deal

Robinson Canó was cut Monday by the Mets with nearly $45 million remaining on his contract, ending an ill-fated marriage and perhaps signaling the end of his decorated major league career. The slumping Canó was designated for assignment in a move announced about an hour before teams were required to trim their active rosters from 28 players to 26. Relegated to a part-time role this season, Canó was a casualty of the crunch as the first-place Mets chose to keep younger, more versatile bench players instead. The 39-year-old Canó, who sat out last season while serving his second suspension for performance-enhancing drugs, is batting .195 (8-for-41) with one home run, three RBIs and a paltry .501 OPS in 43 plate appearances. He has appeared in just 12 of 23 games. An eight-time All-Star and two-time Gold Glove winner, Canó spent his first nine seasons with the Yankees and helped them win the 2009 World Series. He has won five Silver Slugger awards. Canó has a .302 career batting average with 335 home runs, 1,305 RBIs and an .842 OPS in 17 seasons. He has 2,632 hits, including 571 doubles.