New York Mets: Robinson Cano is a perfect mentor for young Mets

The New York Mets tearfully said goodbye to captain David Wright at the end of last season. The team will miss his veteran leadership, but hope the acquisition of World Series champion Robinson Cano can fill that void.

First of all, nobody likes a cheater. Sports, however, have proven to be the land of second, third, and fourth chances. The New York Mets have acquired just this type of guy.

As one of his first moves as general manager, Brodie Van Wagenen acquired second baseman Robinson Cano, along with relief pitcher Edwin Diaz. Ten years ago, Cano was on top of the world playing and winning in New York, but in pinstripes.

A lot has happened since he was hoisting the World Series trophy alongside Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez. Cano signed a massive ten-year deal with the Seattle Mariners worth $240 million; his agent at the time was Van Wagenen.

The team failed to make the playoffs during his time there. Unfortunately, Cano’s final season with Seattle ended even earlier when he was banned 80 games for testing positive for the diuretic Furosemide, a substance banned by MLB.

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Hearing that may make fans nervous, however, he can be a learning lesson to some of the young players on the Mets roster.

He took over David Wright‘s locker during Spring Training and the locker next to him is occupied by young prospect Pete Alonso.

Alonso has been a highly touted prospect for the team and it is not by accident that his locker is next to the oldest guy on the team. Outfielder Michael Conforto spoke about the team signing Cano.

"“He makes everything look easy: the way he swings, the way he throws, the way he fields,” Conforto told the New York Times. “I’ve always been a fan of his. So when he was signed, I was pumped up about that. For me to be in the same locker room, maybe he’ll rub off on me a little bit, and we can talk what he thinks when he is up there.”"

It’s great to see the Mets embrace Cano as he also embraces them. During a news conference, he admitted that he wants to go out and act like he is “competing for a job“.

It should please Mets’ executives to see Cano come in and not expect anything to be handed to him. The Mets had Jeff McNeil play second base last season and while he had some great offensive production, he is likely to be used as a utility player.

Speaking about what Cano brings to the team, manager Mickey Callaway glowed about his ability to hit against the shift saying,

"“Robby Cano with the situational hitting there. That was awesome. Robby went out there and showed them how to do it. There’s free hits over there.”"

The Mets have struggled with situational hitting for years so to hear that is a sigh of relief for fans. Having a guy in the middle of the lineup who can get the hit and keep the line moving is exactly what the Mets have been lacking, mainly due to injuries.

Next. Alonso working hard to live up to the hype. dark

Cano is looking for a fresh start in a familiar place. The Mets are a great situation for the slugger to redeem himself for a big mistake. If, and Mets’ fans know this is a big if, the team’s pitching is as good as predicted and the team gets a healthy Yoenis Cespedes and Michael Conforto back and hitting after Cano this is a playoff team.

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