2014 Seattle Mariners: Robinson Cano Changes Everything
By Todd Pheifer
Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Welcome, fans, to the strange new world of the Seattle Mariners. We are in uncharted territory, and where the team goes from here is hard to determine.
The (reported) signing of Robinson Cano to a 10-year, $240 million contract is a shocking development when you look at the blueprint of this team over the last few seasons. In a sense, Jack Zduriencik just took the team off-roading.
But wait, there’s more! Rumors are still swirling as the Mariners could be chasing David Price, Matt Kemp and possibly even Shin-Soo Choo. In the past, all of these rumors would have been met with a great deal of skepticism. Now that Cano is in the house, who knows?
Let’s give it up for your 2014 Bizarro Mariners!
Granted, this can’t be the only move if the M’s actually want to be competitive. Management just committed to about a three-year window of expectation before Cano starts to decline. As astutely written by Raymond Schwabacher, the Mariners still have a lot of work to do. Unloading second basemen via trade and finding outfielders might be a good place to start.
For now fans can sit back, scratch their heads, and hope that this works out. Teams have tried to go down the spending-spree road in the past, with mixed results. Long-term deals like this do not typically work out, but perhaps the Mariners will find a way to make it successful.
The new world of the Seattle Mariners starts now. It is certainly a strange place.