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
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