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Start with the understanding that --- > Dr. D would not be particularly eager to have Robinson Cano on his baseball team.
There are a few things that just scrape me the wrong way about him.
For example, Dustin Pedroia is 90% of the player, that being the same player, and Pedroia is signed for life at $14M a season or something.
For instance, I could name you a hundred guys who hit .300/.360/.500 and who stopped playing well at exactly age 31. I'll name you one for free: Mike Sweeney, KC.
For example, I resent this "set a record" thing on his contract. He's got Jay-Z selling him as a cultural icon, a Peyton Manning if not a Michael Jordan, which is totally out of contact with reality. I don't think it should be illegal, I don't think it makes him a bad person, I don't think he should be banned from baseball. I just resent it. I resent guys who are worth $100,000 and are certain that they're entitled to $250,000.
For instance, he's coming from the Yankees.
For example, ... well, forget it. Objectively speaking, Cano is a great player. But don't get the idea that Dr. D is biased in his favor.
The Yankee$ seem strangely indifferent about their 7-WAR player, and so does the rest of baseball. Look at the Yankee WAR leaderboard last year. Why are they so cool towards him? Dr. D is not alone here. Dr. D doesn't have the first clue why he doesn't like Cano. He just doesn't.
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That said, here's the thing about Robinson Cano:
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His consistency is UNPOSSIBLE
He hits .310/.370/.520 simply every single year. If he were a machine, literally RoboCano, and you set his dial to .310/.370/.520, he would NOT be able to go out and compile a baseball card like that. Random factors affect things more than that.
Go deeper into his stats, and they get more consistent. Check his BABIP's! They are normal-to-above average (for a fast LHB), .320 every single year.
He produces 6.5 to 7.3 runs per 27 outs, every year. He OPS+'s 140, every single year. He hits 27-33 homers Every. Single. Year. He hits 41-48 doubles (wow!) ... every year.
(One counterexample, though; he's getting on top of the ball a bit more as he gets older. His line drive rates are now 25% and higher, and his grounder rate is going up. That means his OBP will advance at the expense of his SLG. 20 HR's with a .400 OBP isn't a bad guess in his thirties.)
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His swing is gorgeous, not Ken Griffey Jr. gorgeous, but gorgeous in a mechanical, repeatable, no-holes-or-flaws kind of way, like Edgar's. His home run chart is that of an automaton who can detonate every pitch, every location:
The balls are a little deeper when he pulls them - not much. The depth stretches out a little bit, nice and consistently, when he gets around. Not so as to write home.
You know why, right?
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He never overswings.
He's just a machine.
He's not greedy. He's not shrill. He's not styling. He's just going out and focusing on one game at a time. He's like a golfer: happiness isn't a single 320-yard tee shot. Happiness is a million 260-yard tee shots, right down the middle.
He's Edgar, not Griffey. And who would you have wanted as a 31-year-old free agent? Edgar, or Griffey?
If I were a REAL general manager, handing out a REAL trillionaire contract, I'd bet my career on Robinson Cano. And never lose a moment's sleep over it.
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As somebody put it, "Cano is the whole package." He is George Brett, offensively -- .300-and-plenty with homers and with a a double helping of 2B's, please -- he is the prototype 3-hole hitter.
He's doing it as a middle infielder. And he's a good middle infielder.
His swing, and strike zone, are utterly reliable. He plays 159-161 games, every single year.
He's an excellent choice for the 1-1 pick in an AL-only roto draft. That's another way to say, you can call Robinson Cano the best player in baseball (and the best bet, going forward) and you'll get no argument from Dr. D.
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Look at it this way. If the Angels signed Robinson Cano, would you have the slightest doubt -- despite Pujols & Co. -- that they'd get a long series of .310/.370/.520 seasons out of Cano?
Thought not.
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I don't care for Robinson Cano, but he is a great player who, as an on-field asset, is probably underrated. He reminds me some of The Big Red Machine and Joe Morgan: their prototype 3-hole hitter was a second baseman, too, and that set the stage for a juggernaut offense. All you need are the corner guys.
Having Cano is like having an extra DH, that DH being Giancarlo Stanton, and I think we all know what we'd pay for a rule that allowed (only) our team to play with two DH's.
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Like DaddyO, I expect the M's to spin it rather than win it. But, objectively speaking, I've got to admit that Robinson Cano is the ideal free agent add.
BABVA,
Dr D