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Robinson Cano may not have the eyes of the nation watching his every move, but the all-star second baseman has been quite the treat for the Mariners since arriving in Seattle, especially if you dump the first half of 2015 from his record. He may have spun his tires back in April, but that was eons ago at this point, and with the 33-year-old slashing .314/.336/.534 in August and 129 wRC+.
Robinson Cano is hitting .305/.354/.535, with a 139 wRC+. He's going to set a career high in HR. He is only 3rd in the AL among 2B in fWAR.
— Lookout Landing (@LookoutLanding) September 6, 2016
Subtracting him from the M’s lineup would not be welcome news, so as Cano slowed his pace after ripping a single in the seventh of Tuesday night’s game, the attention was immediate.
Trainers checking on Cano at first base. Been bothered by calf issues for a while.
— Ryan Divish (@RyanDivish) September 7, 2016
#Mariners pulled Robinson Cano after single in seventh inning because he had swelling in his ankle from a foul earlier in the game.
— Bob Dutton (@TNT_Mariners) September 7, 2016
It wasn’t long before Cano was swapped out for Ketel Marte on first base and neck hairs were standing up across the Pacific Northwest. Haunted by calf issues forever, it’s easy to consider that Cano was plucked from the game purely as a precautionary measure.
Meanwhile, Seattle is still mathematically in the wild card race, six games behind the Royals, but having lost eight of their last ten. A prolonged absence from their veteran star would, in many experts’ opinions, not help the situation. The local columnists may not be on board anymore, but at the very least, these people deserve to get to watch Cano play baseball for the next three weeks.