Mets second baseman Robinson Cano has gone cold since first at-bat

Robinson Cano began his New York Mets career with a home run on Opening Day. Ever since, he has gone cold.

The reactions were mixed when the New York Mets acquired eight-time All-Star second baseman Robinson Cano from the Seattle Mariners this past offseason. Cano, 36, was coming off a shortened season due to a PED-suspension. The Mets made this move as a part General Manager Brodie Van Wagnen’s win-now approach, as well as acquiring All-Star closer Edwin Diaz in the deal.

The Mets knew they were acquiring a talented player. Cano has been a top second baseman in the majors since he debuted in 2005 for the New York Yankees. The main concern was how much of his talent is left as he heads into his 15thseason. As well as being a consistent All-Star for over a decade, The Dominican-native is a former World Series champion, a five-time Silver Slugger and a career .304 hitter.

His best attributes are his ability to hit for a high average and his durability. Cano has hit over .300 in nine different seasons, despite never winning a batting title. His durability has been proven by playing 150 games or more in 11 different seasons. The Mets were hoping to benefit from his ability to stay healthy since injuries have always been an issue for the Amazins. Many expected him to be the National League starting second baseman this year. But right now, that does not seem to be the case.

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Through a small sample size, Cano has been rather disappointing for the Mets. Through 13 games, his slash line is .182/.237/.327, by far the worst in his career. He is on pace to strike out 162 times this year, which would be the most strikeouts in a single-season in his career. He has been whiffing at an alarming rate. The Mets really hope Cano can curtail his strikeouts as the season progresses. Hitting Coach Chili Davis’ hitting mentality of going the opposite way will help Cano limit the Ks.

Even though there are obvious struggles offensively, he is slugging well. Even though the Mets do not want Cano to be just a pure slugger, but they would rather him contribute power than nothing at all. Through 13 games, he has two home runs and six RBI, which would make him one pace for 25 home runs and 75 RBI. The Mets would love to see that production from the second baseman. As he raises his average, his power will continue to develop more this season. This is just a slow start for Cano.

Defensively, Cano has a -0.1 DWAR and two errors through 13 games. New York really hopes Cano can hone his former Gold Glove skills this season and be a reliable defender. Being 36, there are worries about how mobile Cano will be.

Cano has yet to exceed any expectations that anybody had for him this year. Even though he has started off struggling, he will improve as the season goes on. There are always tough stretches for batters during the season. Unfortunately, Cano started off on one of those stretches.

The key silver lining is that the Mets are playing well. Despite Cano’s early struggles, the team is still winning plenty.

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Time will help Cano. A slow start just derails a player for a period of time, not the whole season. They play 162 games for a reason. The veteran second baseman will soon return to his All-Star caliber.