Should the Yankees Have Kept Robinson Cano?

It’s taken the Yankees almost three full seasons to find an adequate replacement in Starlin Castro for their former homegrown star Robinson Cano.

At the end of the 2013 season, the New York Yankees decided that they would not offer their all-star second baseman, Robinson Cano, a long-term contract extension to the tune of almost $300 million (or so Cano’s camp had hoped for).

So Cano, the last great Yankees’ farm system product, took his talents to the Pacific Northwest, signing with the Seattle Mariners for 10-years, and $240 million. An absurd number of both years and dollars, the Yankees had every right to believe that by the time Cano’s contract would run out at age 40, he would have been simply pilfering money, no longer able to play an elite second base, let alone hit the way he did for eight seasons while in New York.

Unfortunately, the Yankees did not invest their newly minted reserve fund wisely, quickly slapping down an enormous 8-year, $169 million contract (there is a $5 million buyout before 2021) on Jacoby Ellsbury.

Sure, Ellsbury stole an AL-high 52 bases while batting .298 with 178 hits in that final season in Boston, showing the world that he was the game’s predominant lead-off hitter; but talk about a fat deal for a high OBP guy!

I always wondered why the Yankees really sign Ellsbury though. Was it to weaken their division rival? Perhaps. To add a natural table setter? Probably. Because they were bitter about Cano not taking a hometown discount and wanted some form of revenge? Most definitely.

While this lopsided signing is hopefully one of the final poorly executed moves by Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman, Cano has continued to excel in Seattle: .314 BA, 14 HR, 82 RBI in 2014, .287 BA, 21 HR, 79 RBI in 2015, and .296 BA, 29 HR, 80 RBI so far in 2016.

Some will contest that these numbers aren’t worth $24 million per season, and maybe they’re not, but can you name the random second basemen that the Yankees have employed in Cano’s absence, not named Starlin Castro?

I’ll tell you; Stephen Drew, Dustin Ackley, Jose Pirela, Brian Roberts, Gregorio Petit, and Rob Refsnyder.

In 2014, Derek Jeter‘s final season, the Yankees finished in second place, 12 games behind the Baltimore Orioles. In 2015, the Yankees managed to spring into the playoffs as the first Wild Card team before losing to the Houston Astros in that dreaded one game play-in match.

So why do I bring this up, especially now that Starlin Castro has turned on his offensive game since the start of the second half of the season, launching his stat line to .264/.299/.421, 17 HR, 57 RBI? Remember, before the all-star break, Castro was hitting a mundane .256, with 10 HR, and 31 RBI.

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Essentially, the Yankees will have paid Castro $56 million, if they don’t exercise a $1 million buyout in the year 2020, over the duration of his deal.

Obviously, Castro is 26, Cano is 33, so you can’t compare ages when it comes to who SHOULD play longer, retaining more overall value. But let’s look at this objectively.

Had the Yankees kept Cano, even at the same salary he’s making from the Mariners, do they miss the playoffs in Jeter’s final season? Are they knocked out in 2015 by the Astros, when Alex Rodriguez was willing the club to victory night after night?

Maybe, maybe not. But probably the latter.

I can already see the comments flying in from around the interweb, asking what’s the point of comparing the two–you can’t change the past–Cano is too old–Castro can eventually be moved to third base to make room for Gleyber Torres.

Do you really want to change Castro’s position a third time in the course of say, three years (if Torres is big league ready by 2018)? Don’t tell me another swap around the diamond won’t affect his bat.

When you add Castro’s $56 million, along with Ellsbury’s $169 million, the number that remains is $225 million; $15 million less than the Yankees could have paid Cano, a player built for Yankee stadium; one that was tried and true while wearing pinstripes in the Postseason.

The two biggest points to take away from all this is the fact that even though Cano will be employed til age 40 (most likely as a DH), Jacoby Ellsbury, who retains almost no value in that same designated hitter role, will be in New York till he turns 36-ish.

Was it worth sacrificing the last two seasons over $15 million, while worrying about the state of the organization in 2023?

Even today at 33-years-old, Cano is still the premiere second baseman in all of baseball, while Castro luckily found his stroke only about a month ago, making this a conversation even worth having.

Next: Yankees Have a Good Third Base Problem On Their Hands

I just hope for the Yankees’ sake, and their fans, that Castro continues to shine, either at 2B, 3B, or eventually as a trade chip; Ellsbury regains even the most minuscule portion of the type of game he had in Boston; and that Robinson Cano doesn’t turn into David Ortiz, still swatting 30 home runs per season at the age of 40.

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