WATCH: Boston Red Sox' David Ortiz talks Yankees (Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez...)

The New York Daily News published a video (above) Friday of Boston Red Sox' slugger David Ortiz talking about former and current Yankees star players. Ortiz offered his thoughts on the likes of Roger Clemens, Derek Jeter, Gary Sheffield, Mike Mussina, CC Sabathia, and Alex Rodriguez, among others.

Ortiz, presented with a list of names in a rapid-fire type manner, also said that the Yankees allowing Robinson Cano to leave was one of their biggest mistakes. Cano played his first nine years in New York before signing with the Seattle Mariners before the 2014 season. (And no, he's not coming back.)

When asked about A-Rod, Ortiz, said, "A guy that (has) had an amazing career, but could be better." He didn't elaborate.

Last season it seemed Ortiz was saying that Rodriguez may still be using performance enhancing drugs, but later clarified his words and said that that's not what he was implying.

Ortiz, 40, said last month that next season will be his last in professional baseball. The Sox slugger has won three World Championships with Boston and has tortured the Yankees dating back to 2004.

Ryan Hatch may be reached at rhatch@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @ryanhatch. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Robinson Cano says he is ‘100%’ happy with Mariners, dispels rumors he wants to return to Yankees

PUNTA CANA, Dominican Republic - Yankee fans can stow away any holiday dreams of a Robinson Cano reunion in the Bronx.

The former Bombers second baseman, who signed a 10-year, $240 million deal to play for Seattle before the 2014 season, told the Daily News he is "100%" happy in the Emerald City, despite recent reports to the contrary.

"I don't want to comment on that because I don't want to make a big deal about it. Whoever says that, I don't know why they say that," Cano told The News Saturday night, prior to a dinner at Red Sox slugger David Ortiz's charity golf tournament event. Cano, 33, added that he "can't wait" for the 2016 season to begin, borrowing a phrase from former Jets linebacker Bart Scott.

On Friday, Ortiz was asked to comment on former and current Yankees prior to his swan song season with the Red Sox, and when Big Papi got to Cano's name, he called out the Yankees for not keeping the second baseman in pinstripes when Cano was a free agent.

"The biggest mistake that the Yankees ever have done, letting him go," said Ortiz.

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"Coming from (Ortiz), it means a lot," Cano said. "He's a big brother, one of the guys I would look up to. He's hit like 500 home runs (503), over 2,000 hits - that's every player's dream come true. He has done everything in baseball. He's the kind of guy that always wants to retire when he's doing good. Not wait until they retire him."

Cano batted .287 with 21 homers and 79 RBI this past season, his second with the Mariners, but he dealt with a parasite issue, and had surgery to repair a sports hernia in October.

"My stomach is a little better. Not 100%, but I'm better," said Cano.

The San Pedro de Macoris, D.R. native opened his RC22 Dream School in the Dominican city last week and said it is "one of the biggest things I've ever done in my life."

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Between training for the 2016 season, Cano said he will be actively involved in the day-to-day process at his new charitable endeavor. "We already started class (last) Monday. So it's underway now. I'm not gonna be teaching. But I might come, pass by and just talk to (students), read some books and spend time with them. It's close to where I practice. Makes it easier for me," said Cano.

Yankees tinker with phenom to find Robinson Cano replacement

The Yankees are thinking about giving stud infield prospect Jorge Mateo reps at second base during the Instructional League that started Thursday in Tampa and runs for a month.

By no means have the Yankees given up on the 20-year-old Mateo as a shortstop, the only position he has played in four professional seasons, but with second base in the big leagues a crater since Robinson Cano split following the 2013 season, the Yankees might want to see how the ultra-athletic Mateo handles the other side of the bag.

That’s especially true if Didi Gregorius, 25, can build on what has been a very solid season in his first year with the club.

According to a scout from an AL team who saw the 6-foot, 188-pound Mateo this season, second base is where he will play when he reaches the big leagues.

“His hands are a little too nervous for short,’’ the scout said. “He is more suited for second base. He is a big league player. The bat is good, he can run and he will be able to play second base.’’

Since Mateo, who turned 21 in June, hasn’t played above Single-A (and only 21 games for Tampa this year), to believe the Dominican Republic native would be ready to break into the majors at the start of next season at any position could be a stretch.

However, in a combined 117 games for Charleston (Low-A) and Tampa, Mateo batted .278 (125-for-449), swiped 82 bases in 99 attempts and had a .345 on-base average. After hitting .268 (98-for-365) at Charleston, Mateo batted .321 (27-for-84) at Tampa, where his on-base percentage rose to .374 from .338 at Charleston.

Since Cano left for Seattle, the Yankees tried Brian Roberts at second in 2014 and released him that Aug. 1. Stephen Drew was re-signed as a free agent this past winter for $5 million and is hitting .202, albeit with 17 homers.

Rob Refsnyder was touted by some as the future second baseman, but Joe Girardi has been content to use Drew, Brendan Ryan and even Dustin Ackley instead of the right-handed Refsnyder since he was promoted from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, where he batted .271 and committed a team-high 18 errors.

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Yankee pitchers have held hitters to a .077 (2-for-26) average with runners in scoring position in the four games entering Friday night’s tilt against the Mets. The Yankees are 3-1 in that span.

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While Dellin Betances ran into control problems Wednesday night against the Rays when he walked three consecutive batters, his late-inning bullpen partner Andrew Miller is smothering the strike zone.

Miller has fanned the last eight batters he has faced and nine out of 10.

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Jacoby Ellsbury stopped a career-high 0-for-25 slump Wednesday night when he went 2-for-5, but contact has been a problem for the Yankees’ leadoff hitter. In 57 September at-bats, Ellsbury has 13 Ks compared to seven hits.

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Anticipating enormous crowds for three Subway Series games against the Yankees at Citi Field, the Mets strongly suggest using mass transit and arriving early. Gates open two hours before the first pitch.

Robinson Cano — The Seattle Mariners forgotten man

With a 73-77 record, it doesn’t look like the Seattle Mariners are going to be making the playoffs this season.

Once again, an inability to score runs has been a major problem for the Mariners in 2015, this year they didn’t have the pitching to fall back on however.

The Mariners .249 team batting average and 606 runs scored are both bad enough for 23rd in the entire MLB, while their 4.15 team ERA (Earned Run Average) ranks as 22nd best in the League.

Somewhere in the abysmal Seattle offense sits Robinson Cano. The 32-year old second baseman signed a 10 year contract with the Mariners worth $240 million in the 2013 offseason.

In 2014, Cano enjoyed a spectacular (but still somewhat disappointing) first season with Seattle.

Cano hit .314 (.382 on-base percentage), but had 37 doubles (his least since 2008), 14 home runs (tied for career low), driving in 82 runs (least since 2008), and scoring 77 more (least since 2008) in 157 games.

Yes, those would be great numbers for most players, but Cano isn’t most players.

Cano is once again having what many Major Leaguers would call a solid season in 2015, but for him it is further proof that he is declining.

Cano is hitting .281 (.332 OBP) with 34 doubles, 17 home runs, 69 RBI (Runs Batted In), and 74 runs scored in 144 games this year.

The problem in Seattle isn’t just Cano, and maybe that’s his problem.

Yes, Nelson Cruz is having an absurd season (.310 average, 42 home runs, 88 RBI), Franklin Gutierrez is having the common breakout-at-32-years-old season (.315 average, 15 home runs in 50 games), and Kyle Seager is Kyle Seager, but outside of that, there’s more offense in a lineup that faced Mo’ne Davis.

Cano is still putting up top-tier numbers, especially for a second baseman, but the stats would suggest that he’s on the decline.

So what do the Mariners do with a declining 32-year old that still has eight years left on his massive contract?

Easy, they put him in the middle of the lineup. The best thing Seattle can do is build a team that can actually hit around him.

No, I don’t think Cano will still be extremely productive when he’s 40, which is exactly why the Mariners need to utilize him now.

Cano’s numbers may not be what they used to, but he can still be the anchor of a solid offense.

Hunter Noll is a Staff Writer for Outside Pitch MLB. Follow him on Twitter

Robinson Cano homers twice as Seattle Mariners down Kansas City Royals, 11-2

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Robinson Cano wasn't focused on the distance. He was just happy to see the ball clear the fence.

Cano homered twice and drove in four runs and Hisashi Iwakuma struck out a season-high 10 as the Seattle Mariners romped past the slumping Kansas City Royals, 11-2 Tuesday night.

The Mariners muscled out five home runs, with Cano's 433-foot three-run shot in the seven-run third his longest in more than two years.

"I knew it was a good swing but I didn't think it was going to be that far," Cano said. "But for me it doesn't matter how far it goes if it goes over the wall."

Kauffman Stadium is not a friendly park for power hitters, but it was not too big for the Mariners.

"It doesn't usually play this small," Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon said. " I thought the ball jumped, really jumped in early BP tonight and I think it carried over into the game."

The AL Central-leading Royals have dropped 12 of 17. Their magic number for clinching the division remained three.

Cano and Kyle Seager each hit solo homers in the first inning for Seattle, which has the league's best record in September at 13-6 but is still three games under .500 (74-77). It was Seager's 25th home run and his seventh in 23 games.

Brad Miller and Jesus Montero also connected for Seattle.

Cano hit a three-run shot in a seven-run third inning for his 15th career multihomer game. Cano's next hit will be the 2,000th of his career.

Iwakuma (9-4), who is 7-2 in his past nine starts, curbed the Royals on three singles over seven scoreless innings. He has allowed one run and 10 hits in 13 innings in his past two starts, while striking out 19 and walking one.

Royals starter Jeremy Guthrie (8-8) was pulled after Miller homered with one out in the third. Guthrie retired only seven of the 17 batters he faced, allowing nine runs on nine hits, four home runs.

"When he missed location, they didn't miss it," Royals manager Ned Yost said.

Guthrie is 1-3 with an 8.07 ERA in seven starts since the All-Star break, allowing 58 hits, including 12 home runs, and walking 11 in 35 2-3 innings.

Yost said he would "sleep on it" when asked if Guthrie would make another start.

Montero hit a two-run shot in the fourth off rookie right-hander Miguel Almonte for the final Seattle runs.

Alcides Escobar had three of the Royals' hits, scored a run and drove in a run. Alex Rios doubled in the ninth to extend his hitting streak to 11 games.

Robinson Cano becomes first 2B to reach 2,000 hits in 11 seasons

Seattle Mariners second baseman Robinson Cano became the first second baseman in MLB history to reach 2,000 hits in 11 seasons, according to MLB Stat of the Day.

Cano knocked hit No. 2,000 Wednesday night against the Kansas City Royals on an eighth inning single.

Cano has recorded at least 155 hits in each of his 11 seasons in the majors. His most productive season came in 2009, when he recorded 204 hits and hit .320 for the New York Yankees.

In December of 2013, Cano signed a 10-year, $240 million contract with the Mariners. Cano is hitting .282 this season, which would be his worst average since 2008.

• Derek Jeter, Joe Torre, former Yankees remember Yogi Berra

In his career, Cano has a .307 average with 237 home runs and 977 RBIs.

Robinson Cano gets milestone 2,000th hit, and quickly

As a mostly disappointing season winds down for Robinson Cano and the Seattle Mariners, Cano can take solace in an important personal milestone.

On Wednesday night, Cano hit an eighth-inning single in a 4-3 loss to the Royals for his 2,000th career hit. He did it in a hurry, too. He became just the 14th player in history to get 2,000 hits in his first 11 seasons. He joins some pretty elite company in that group, players like Pete Rose, Hank Aaron, Wade Boggs, Stan Musial, and Ichiro Suzuki.

Cano told MLB.com he was happy to reach the milestone despite another loss.

"It was good, but it would have been better if we'd ended up winning," Cano said. "That's all that matters now is winning games. But it's something, getting to 2,000, you'll never forget. As a kid in your backyard playing, you're dreaming of getting to this day. But losing is not fun."

"It means a lot, being in the same category as Pete Rose and Musial, and those guys that are legends, heroes, guys that are examples," Cano said. "To be in with those kinds of names, as a person and player, you should be proud of yourself."

After a terrible first half of the season, Cano has been on fire in the second half, though the Mariners are out of the playoff race. In his second season since signing with the Mariners, Cano slashed his way to a .251/.290/.370 with just six homers and 30 RBIs in the first half. But in the second half he has improved to .326/.391/.547 with 13 home runs and 43 RBIs.

Cano is 12th among active players in hits.