Mariners acquire first baseman/outfielder Danny Valencia from the A’s

In need of another right-handed hitter in the lineup, the Mariners acquired veteran first baseman/outfielder Danny Valencia in a trade with the A's. Seattle sent pitching prospect Paul Blackburn to Oakland to complete the deal.

Searching for lineup balance to complement a slew of left-handed hitters, the Mariners made a trade to address that need on Saturday afternoon. Seattle acquired right-handed hitting first baseman/outfielder Danny Valencia from the Oakland A’s in exchange for minor league pitching prospect Paul Blackburn.

Valencia, 32, hit .287 (135-for-471) with  a .792 on-base plus slugging percentage, 22 doubles, a triple, 17 home runs, 51 RBI and a .346 on-base percentage in 130 games with Oakland this season. He was particularly effective against left-handed pitching, hitting .318 (41-for-129) with seven doubles, seven homers, 19 RBI and a .924 OPS.

“Danny’s skill set is a good fit for our club,” said Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto. “He’s been a very productive offensive player, especially against left-handed pitching. In addition, his ability to handle all four corner positions presents (manager) Scott (Servais) with a welcome level of flexibility when creating lineups.”

After his stint with the A’s, Valencia was excited for a new opportunity.

“Obviously, Oakland is going through a rebuild,” he said in a conference call. “But the Mariners are a team that’s on the verge of the playoffs.”

The chance to hit behind the trio of Robinson Cano, Nelson Cruz and Kyle Seager was also quite intriguing.

“That’s a great group of hitters and I feel like I can extend that a little more,” he said.

In conversations with Dipoto and Servais, Valencia was told that the bulk of his playing time will come at first base with some time in right field. But he can also play left field and third base. That versatility will allow him to be more than just a straight platoon player. With rookie Dan Vogelbach likely to see time at first base in his first big league season, Valencia also provides some every-day insurance if the young prospect struggles.

“What we see is primarily is shared time at first base with Vogey, give a day off or DH day at third base for Kyle, which is something we haven’t had the flexibility to do and (Valencia) can also go play either corner (outfield) spot,” Dipoto said. “He’s a flexible corner piece that we see as an every day or near every day player, using him at a variety of different positions.”

It will allow Valencia to get at-bats against right-handed pitching. He’s pushed hard in recent seasons not to be limited to a platoon role.

“He’s been more of a neutral splits guy the last couple of years,” Dipoto said. “It’s something he’s focused on. Last year, he had 500-plus plate appearances. We envision a similar type of workload.”

With the signing of Valencia, it means that the Mariners will not pursue another year with free agent first baseman Dae-Ho Lee.

“There’s very little likelihood that both could fit on a same roster,” he said.

There is some question about Valencia’s defense at first base. He’s started just 43 games there in the big leagues.

“He’s athletic enough,” Dipoto said. “In my mind his hands work well enough, we’ve seen him play third base. We’ve seen him in the outfield more. He knows first base is the position he will lay the bulk of the time. It will give him a chance to work in the offseason.”

Valencia, who said he played a season of first base at University of Miami when Ryan Braun played third, wasn’t concerned. He plans to work on first base this offseason in Florida with friends Eric Hosmer and Yonder Alonso — both excellent defensive first basemen.

“I have some experience there,” he said.

In seven big leagues seasons with six different teams, Valencia has hit .271 (613-f2258) with a .748 OPS. His career split against left-handers are impressive. He boasts a .321 (247-for-770) batting average with 52 doubles, four triples, 26 home runs, 124 RBI, with a .373 on-base percentage and an .873 OPS.

He credits his recent success with some swing changes he made in Toronto in 2015 while also feeding off of the examples set by Josh Donaldson and Jose Bautista.

“Being around them helped,” he said. “I incorporated a leg kick which allowed me to keep the bat in the zone longer. I’m able to hit with power not just to left field but also center and right.

Even more enticing for the Mariners is his cost. Valencia is third-year arbitration eligible and is projected to make around just over $5 million this season.

Blackburn was with the Mariners organization for a short time. He was acquired along with Vogelbach as part of the trade that sent Mike Montgomery to the Cubs. He made 25 starts and one relief appearance at the Class AA level with the Cubs and Mariners’ affiliates, posting a 9-5 record with a 3.27 ERA.

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Happ gets 20th win, Blue Jays take over 1st AL wild-card spot

SEATTLE – J.A. Happ had a long wait between innings, and it was totally worth it for him and the Toronto Blue Jays.

Happ became the major leagues’ second 20-game winner and Russell Martin and Michael Saunders each hit a two-run homer, lifting Toronto over the Seattle Mariners 10-2 on Tuesday night to move into first in the AL wild-card race.

Toronto moved a game ahead of Baltimore and remained 2 1/2 games ahead of Detroit. Seattle lost for the fourth time in five games and trails Toronto by four games.

Happ was the patient beneficiary when the Jays took the lead with an eight-run fourth inning.

“I actually came back up in the tunnel here and threw a little bit with Josh Thole trying to keep my arm loose,” Happ said. “But, when we’re scoring eight an inning, or six an inning, not sure which one it was, but I’ll definitely take that any day.”

Happ (20-4) allowed two runs, six hits and a walk over five innings, striking out eight while winning for the 14th time in his last 15 decisions. He’s the first Toronto pitcher to reach 20 wins since Roy Halladay in 2008.

“Twenty wins. It’s hard to do at the big league level, the best baseball in the world,” Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. “He’s had some kind of season. He’s going to keep going strong, but it’s quite an accomplishment.”

Martin and Saunders each homered off Hisashi Iwakuma (16-12) during the Blue Jays’ big inning. After catcher Chris Iannetta misplayed Jose Bautista’s pop foul for an error, Bautista singled with one out and Martin followed with his 20th home run. Troy Tulowitzki singled and Saunders followed with his 24th homer to put Toronto up 4-2.

Kevin Pillar doubled and Ezequiel Carrera chased Iwakuma with an RBI single. Devon Travis greeted reliever Nick Vincent with a bloop single down the right-field line, scoring Carrera from first to make it 6-2. Josh Donaldson walked and Edwin Encarnacion capped the inning with a two-run double.

Donaldson opened the sixth with his 35th homer and Encarnacion added an eighth-inning solo homer, his 42nd, for the final two runs.

“We scratched out a couple runs, get a big hit and finally get a lead, started getting some momentum our way,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “Unfortunately, the shutdown inning was nonexistent. It got away from us there, some bad pitches, they hit some home runs and got some other hits to fall in for them. They were around the ball all night. We couldn’t get them off it.”

Martin and Saunders became the first Canadian-born teammates in major league history to hit at least 20 home runs in the same season.

“I think Russ and I will tell you that we’re probably more proud than others,” Saunders said. “I don’t think it means a lot to anybody else. But Russ lately has just been on fire, really turned his season around. We’ve leaned on him for the second half of the season.”

The Mariners took a 2-0 lead in the third when Robinson Cano lined a two-run triple off the knee of second baseman Travis that caromed all the way into the right-field corner.

“That one inning, they put a couple on the board, some tough plays,” Gibbons said. “But what he (Happ) did, he held them in check, limited it to two and then our offence took over, which was good to see. We haven’t seen one of those in a while. The first two games here, we played really, really well.”

EXCLUSIVE COMPANY FOR HAPP

Happ became the sixth Blue Jay with 20 wins, joining Halladay, Roger Clemens, Jack Morris, Pat Hentgen and David Wells. The total ties him with Wells in 2000 for the most victories by a Toronto left-hander.

TRAINING ROOM

Mariners: RHP Taijuan Walker had no issues after taking a line drive off his pitching arm in the first inning on Monday night. “He feels fine. There’s nothing there,” manager Scott Servais said.

MARINERS AFFILIATE MOVES

Seattle will have two new minor league affiliates in 2017. The Mariners announced a two-year agreement with the Arkansas Travelers in the Double-A Texas League and a four-year deal with the Modesto Nuts in the Class A California League. Arkansas replaces Jackson, which won the Southern League title. Modesto replaces Bakersfield, which was contracted from the California League.

UP NEXT

Blue Jays: RHP Aaron Sanchez (13-2, 3.17 ERA) gets the start in the afternoon series finale at Safeco Field. Sanchez is 2-1 with a 4.65 ERA and four no decisions in his last seven starts. He lasted just 3 2/3 innings in his last start, giving up six runs on five hits.

Mariners: RHP Felix Hernandez (11-6, 3.79) allowed six runs — five earned — and eight hits in 4 1/3 innings in his last start, a 6-0 loss vs. Houston. He is 7-2 in 12 starts since coming off the DL (right calf strain) on July 20.

Robinson Cano: No More Home Run Derby For Me

It is hard to watch a former champion struggle at his craft. For Robinson Cano fans, watching the 2011 Home Run Derby champion fade away in the first round of this year's competition was frustrating. Cano, the No. 4 seed, was blasted 24-7 in his head-to-head matchup with eventual champion Giancarlo Stanton.

When Cano won in 2011, the Home Run Derby featured a three-round, ten outs-per-round format. Cano's 2016 campaign was his fourth Derby appearance (2011-2013, 2016), but first in the new timed format. Cano, known for his nonchalance, had the lowest total of any player in any round in the two years of the new rules.

"It is more difficult," he says. "You got a time now. You got to swing. You've got to hit the most you can because you know the guy behind you, the guy in front of you, are going to get the same amount of minutes."

Cano is 33 and still among the best players in the game. His .304 average, 22 home runs, 23 doubles and 66 runs all rank in the top 11 in the American League.

But his Home Run Derby prime may be exhausted. And Cano wants to put that side of his career to bed.

"No, I'm not going back again," Cano says when asked about how he will improve for future years. "I just [did] this year because of my son. I'm not doing it again."

Cano's son, also named Robinson, lives in the Dominican Republic, but he was in the United States for this year's All-Star Game, accompanying Robinson and Robinson's father, Jose, a former MLB player known for his pitching to Cano and other players in the Home Run Derby.

"That's one of the reasons I want to do it, too," Cano told The Seattle Times on July 7. "It will be my dad, myself and my son. So us three there is something that’s going to be pretty special."

During that interview, the Mariner also said of the Home Run Derby, "I want to go back." A few weeks later, his opinion has reversed.

Cano spoke to ThePostGame at the Roc Nation Summer Classic Charity Basketball Tournament. His RC22 Foundation was a beneficiary of the event, along with CC Sabathia's PitCCh In Foundation, Miguel Cotto's Fundacion El Angel and Nick Jonas' Beyond Type 1.

Orioles 5, Mariners 2: That 2008 trade bites the Mariners again

BALTIMORE — Given their history against former farmhand Chris Tillman, a constant reminder from a disastrous trade, the Mariners needed Taijuan Walker to be at his emerging-ace best Wednesday against Baltimore.

Walker was something less than that and, consequently, the Mariners failed to build on their easy victory in Tuesday’s series opener at Camden Yards. Walker lasted just five innings in a 5-2 loss to the Orioles.

Tillman (6-1) pitched into the seventh inning before departing with one out and a runner at second. He now 7-0 with a 2.96 ERA in nine career starts against the club that drafted him with the 49th overall pick in 2006.

"He just commands his fastball," said Nelson Cruz, who played with Tillman on the 2014 Orioles. "That’s his main pitch. His ball kind of rises, so it’s tough to lay of those pitches."

If you’ve somehow forgotten, Tillman was part of the Feb. 8, 2008 trade that brought him to Baltimore with outfielder Adam Jones, reliever George Sherrill and two other minor-league pitchers for lefty Erik Bedard.

Only I-5 traffic and not giving the ball to Marshawn causes greater teeth-gnashing in the Pacific Northwest.

Brad Brach replaced Tillman and got the final two outs in the seventh before the Mariners, trailing by two runs, stirred in the eighth inning after Robinson Cano’s one-out double.

A walk to Cruz, and Kyle Seager’s single loaded the bases and prompted the Orioles to summon their closer, lefty Zach Britton. That prompted a counter-move to Dae-Ho Lee to bat for Adam Lind.

Lee struck out, and the Mariners left the bases loaded when Chris Iannetta grounded out to second. After Baltimore added an insurance run against Joel Peralta, Britton closed out the victory for his 11th save.

"Their closer is one of the best in the league," manager Scott Servais said. "We had some guys out there tonight. We just couldn’t get them across."

Despite the loss, the Mariners (22-17) remained one game ahead of second-place Texas in the American League West Division.

Cruz’s point about Tillman relying on his fastball is telling because Walker (2-3) admitted his biggest problem was that he didn’t do likewise while often laboring through his five innings.

"I wasn’t throwing (the fastball) a lot," he said. "I just used too much off-speed instead of letting my fastball get a chance to get the velo up."

Walker retired the side in order only once, gave up successive homers in the second to Mark Trumbo and Matt Wieters. And after the Mariners clawed even, Walker gave up single runs in the fourth and fifth innings.

"It wasn’t quite the same crispness to his stuff," Servais said, "that we saw last time out."

The homers by Trumbo and Wieters were no-doubters. First it was Trumbo, a more recent former Mariner, who teed off on an 0-1 curve for a 412-foot bomb to left.

"I threw a hanging curveball," Walker said, "and Trumbo is a power hitter. He doesn’t miss mistakes. That’s what it was, a mistake pitch."

Wieters followed with a 366-foot drive to right on a fastball.

"I was behind in the count," Walker said, "and the ball kind of cut on me right into his barrel. Another mistake pitch."

The Mariners got one run back when Leonys Martin opened the third with a 388-foot drive to right for his sixth homer. Cruz’s leadoff double into the fourth led to the tying run on Iannetta’s sacrifice fly.

But Trumbo and Wieters beat Walker again later in the fourth. Trumbo lined a one-out single up the middle and came all the way around on Wieters’ double off the center-field wall just beyond Martin’s reach.

"I didn’t find the wall with my hand," Martin said. "That’s why I missed the ball."

Much of Walker’s trouble in the fifth inning was self-inflicted. He issued a leadoff walk to Hyun Soo Kim after being ahead 1-2 in the count, and then bungled Joey Rickard’s attempted sacrifice.

Rickard bunted the ball too hard and right back to Walker, who had a chance for a double play — until he threw the ball into center field. Both runners were safe.

"I just rushed it," Walker said. "I didn’t realize I had that much time. I just tried to be too quick with it. I just threw it away."

The runners moved up on Manny Machado’s squibber in front of the plate but had to hold on Adam Jones’ grounder to short with the infield playing in. A walk to Chris Davis loaded the bases for Trumbo.

Walker then fired a wild pitch that sailed high past the plate. Kim and other runners moved to second and third before Trumbo grounded out. So just one run. Baltimore led 4-2. It could have been a lot worse.

It was still enough.

PLAY OF THE GAME: Center fielder Leonys Martin ran down Adam Jones’ deep one-out fly in the first inning. Martin made a leaping catch at the wall in left-center field.

Close second: Baltimore center fielder Adam Jones retreated to catch Robinson Cano’s leadoff drive at the wall in the sixth inning. The difference: Martin had a longer run.

PLUS: Kyle Seager reached base four times with three walks and a single…lefty reliever Mike Montgomery worked two more scoreless innings and lowered his ERA to 2.08…Ketel Marte won an 11-pitch battle against Orioles closer Zach Britton by pulling a leadoff double past third base in the ninth inning.

MINUS: First baseman Adam Lind was hitless in three at-bats. His average is down to .223…reliever Joel Peralta allowed one run in his only inning. That makes five runs in two innings over his last three outings…Nori Aoki was hitless in five at-bats and is 2-for-18 in his last four games.

STAT PACK: The Mariners were 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position. They ended five innings with runners in scoring position.

QUOTABLE: Ketel Marte’s double on the 11th pitch in the ninth inning against Orioles closer Zach Britton drew praise from teammate Leonys Martin.

"That’s the best at-bat I’ve ever seen against this guy," Martin said. "You see that sink, right in the middle. That was ridiculous."

SHORT HOPS: Taijuan Walker is 0-3 with a 5.09 ERA in his last four starts…Leonys Martin, in his 37th game, hit his sixth home run, which surpassed his 2015 total of five in 95 games at Texas. His career high is eight in 2013…Robinson Cano has reached base at least once in 17 straight games…Nelson Cruz has reached base at least once in 23 straight games at Camden Yards.

Read more here: http://www.theolympian.com/sports/mlb/seattle-mariners/mariners-insider-blog/article78536787.html#storylink=cpy

Mariners right fielder Seth Smith surprises Robinson Cano with catch near infield

BALTIMORE – Seth Smith provided the entertainment in the Mariners’ 10-0 win in the series opener against the Orioles Tuesday night. Not known for his speed or range in the outfield, Smith ranged everywhere, and I mean everywhere, to make the plays, including one in Robinson Cano territory in the sixth inning.

Cano stepped aside after being called off of an Adam Jones popup and gave Smith an amused look as he put on the brakes following the catch on the infield dirt. As he circled to return to right field, Smith had his glove up to his face covering his mouth as he could be seen saying something on the run back with Cano laughing the entire time. I like to think the always quiet and incredibly low key Smith was trash talking Cano. After the game he assured me that wasn’t the case.

“No, I didn’t say anything,” he said sheepishly. “I didn’t know what to do. I was, ‘I don’t know what just happened.’ I don’t usually catch that ball, it’s his ball, but it came up, it was going out that way, I was under it and saw it. I don’t know what was going on.”

Mariners manager Scott Servais said after the game it was understandable that Smith, who recorded seven putouts in the game, could lose track of where he was in Camden Yards’ right field as it is a little different.

“The outfield here is a lot smaller than Safeco Field so he’s playing a little bit shallow and he got a little crazy,” he said. “That’s OK, he needs to go after those. We love the effort and he was finishing them off, but when Robbie’s almost standing on the infield and he called him off? That’s a little too much (laughs).”

Mariners' Robinson Cano: Hits first home run since opening weekend

Robinson Cano went 1-for-4 with his fifth home run of the season in Wednesday's extra-inning win over the Rangers.

Cano was the first Seattle Mariners player to even homer in the team's first three games to begin a season. He had four home runs, seven RBI and scored four runs through the team's opening series. Entering Wednesday's game, he hadn't homered, logged an RBI or scored a run since that historic start. Cano likely won't have to wait that long to get his next home run, as he has a date with the short porch at Yankee Stadium this weekend.

Robinson Cano's decline or lack thereof

The star second baseman has seen his numbers fall the last couple of seasons, but there have been reasons every time. So what does it mean?

Practical application is important. So I'm starting my look at Robinson Cano, 2016 edition, with where I took him in our slow (slooooooow) 15-team mock, currently ongoing on the site

Cano was my pick (woo!) in the fourth round, No. 53 overall. Among second basemen,Jose Altuve and Dee Gordon went earlier, with guys that qualify at the position in at least some leagues like Matt Carpenter, Brian Dozier, Anthony Rendon and Rougned Odor all going by the end of the fifth. More or less, that aligns with our consensus rankings, with Cano coming in third and the aforementioned guys following him in short order.

It's been a steady fall for Cano the last few years. Last year, he was our consensus No. 2 second baseman, and he, Rendon and Altuve formed their own three-player tier. In 2014, he was almost unanimously No. 1, with seven of eight rankers having him first.

It paints a picture of a Cano that has been on a steady decline (his OPS+, games played, doubles and select other stats have all fallen for four years running) that might or might not be fair.

We remember Cano joining Seattle for 2014, and his numbers suffering as a result. Only, as I noted at the start of last year, those suffering numbers were almost entirely power, and at that, almost entirely tied to his first half. Second-half-of-2014 Robinson Cano was exactly what we had traditionally expected for him, leading to some reason for optimism for 2015.

Which made it all the more frustrating when Cano started 2015 like he had won a "Be a big leaguer for a month" contest and had no place there. In the first half of last season, Cano hit .251/.290/.370, had six home runs, basically looked lost. If the season had ended at the All-Star break, these rankings would have Cano as a borderline top-10 second baseman at best, and even that would only have been on reputation.

Of course, Cano had his second half. In that second half, he hit .331/.387/.540. He had 15 home runs. His season-long BABIP of .316 tied his career-low for a year, but considering it was at .290 for that first half, things only went up the rest of the way.

There are reasons for the slump and subsequent improvement, of course. Or, at least, there are theoretical, correlation-without-causation reasons that could explain Cano's struggles. Cano dealt with some serious acid reflux during the first half of the season that supposedly kept him in check. At the end of the season, he had surgery to repair a sports hernia. Almost certainly, one or both of these ailments had an effect on how he played in the games.

In two seasons in Seattle, four half-seasons, Robinson Cano has disappointed twice and blown us away twice. All told, 2015 was the second-worst season of his career, with an OPS+ of 118 breaking up a five-year trend of huge numbers. Even then, his second half was Cano-esque, if not better than that.

Cano is now a 33-year-old second baseman. His numbers have held steady or gotten first for four straight years in several categories. There was a Robinson Cano who finished in the top six of the MVP voting for five straight years, from 2010 to 2014. That guy's gone.

But I got him in the fourth round of a deep mock. I picked him as the third second baseman off the board. I took him with the 53rd pick, and felt like I had won a prize. He's not the superstar he used to be. But he's among the elite second basemen still, and needs to be taken as such.

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.

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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.