The Mets' decision to let Robinson Cano loose keeps getting better

The marriage between former New York Mets second baseman Robinson Cano and the San Diego Padres lasted just 20 days, as the Padres officially released the 39-year-old following their 5-2 loss against the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday.

Cano batted just .091 in 12 games and registered just three hits in 33 at-bats; the three hits were all singles against the Phillies two weeks ago. He then proceeded to be hitless in his last 21 at-bats, and his Padres tenure fittingly ended with a fly out to left field with the bases loaded as the go-ahead run to end the game, missing a go-ahead grand slam by a few feet.

The Mets designating Robinson Cano for assignment is a prime example of how night and day the new and old regimes are.

It was painfully obvious from the start of the season that Robinson Cano was never going to be an impact player again following a year-long suspension due to a failed drug test. Defensively, his range at second base became quite limited, reducing his role to being a designated hitter, where he still produced feeble results as a Met.

The die-hard fans know in their hearts that if the old regime under Jeff Wilpon was still around in Flushing, Cano would have been kept over Luis Guillorme and Dom Smith when the rosters had to be reduced by two on May 2. The large sum of money the team owed him and the gamble they placed on the trade would have been the two factors that the overmatched Brodie Van Wagenen we know would have said to justify keeping Cano.

Now with Steve Cohen in charge, the Mets front office doesn’t have to be compromised and focus on bringing in guys to maintain a winning culture who care about championships rather than the money.

The Mets have been making nothing but sound baseball decisions in the last six months since they hired Billy Eppler to be their general manager. It was Steve Cohen’s decision to let the baseball operations department make the decisions without fear or compromise, and such decisions have paid off, while sending a warning to those that don't perform in the orange and blue.

Guillorme, who survived the roster cut, has been outstanding both at the plate and on the infield, while Cano seemed constantly overmatched with the Padres, and who knows if anyone will give Cano another chance.

Couple that with the difficult decision to send Dom Smith down to the minors to get at-bats and much-needed confidence, and you see the front office’s desire to win championships has extended all the way down to the players.

And if you’re a Mets fan, you must be thrilled with the baseball decisions the team is making, because these immediate results in 2022 are a result of the seismic culture change in Flushing.