Mets teammates say they'll miss clubhouse leader Robinson Cano
Mets designated hitter Robinson Cano returns to the dugout after he lines out to end the first game of an MLB doubleheader at Citi Field on Aug. 25, 2020. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Baseball is a business, especially on days like Monday, when rosters across the league shrunk by two players, bags were packed and goodbyes were hastily bestowed.
But baseball is full of living, breathing people, too, and Monday served as a stark reminder of that as well.
“You’ve got to give them their space,” Buck Showalter said of his club, hours after the Mets announced that they had designated Robinson Cano for assignment. “You can’t just say ‘this is how you should feel.’ That’s not right. You’re an adult. You have the right to have your feelings and you don’t try to impose what you think they should be. That’s their prerogative, to feel what they’re feeling, and if they want to express it, express it.”
There weren’t too many expressions in the Mets’ clubhouse Monday, but mostly because the players closest to Cano were absent.
Yes, Cano had his issues with performance-enhancing drugs, and yes, there wasn’t really much of a place for an expensive and aging player hitting .195 in limited chances this year. But Cano was a well-loved veteran presence, and players were comfortable approaching him for advice, and his loss will be felt — even if it is the best business decision.
“He’s been around for so long in this game,” J.D. Davis said. “He’s been an icon in New York and he’s been a centerpiece in this clubhouse, he’s been a leader. To lose him, it definitely takes a little bit of the wind out of our sails, but at the same time, there’s still a lot of season left.”
Cano was especially close to Francisco Lindor and Edwin Diaz. Lindor said after Monday's night's 5-2 loss to Atlanta that he was "sad" to lose Cano as a teammate but understood why it happened.
"I don’t want to see him go, but I respect the team’s decision," he said. "He is a great guy, great teammate. I wish I spent more time with him, continued to learn about the game and different things that he has been through in life . . . You knew where Cano was because he was laughing really loud or he was telling a story really loud. Wherever he goes, I wish him nothing but the best."
Showalter said he’s still gauging everyone’s reactions, and a lot of that is by design. In past years, the Citi Field clubhouse was populated by other team personnel such as bullpen catchers and batting practice pitchers, but Showalter has created a haven of just players. There are 26 occupied lockers, and that’s it.
“There’s nothing else in there,” he said. “It’s their clubhouse and you try to give them a little space with it and create the avenues to talk about it. Timing is everything with things like that. You also say maybe they’re not. Don’t create a problem that may not be there, but you’ve got to be aware that the potential is there.”
Players are far from stupid, especially when it comes to the sport they excel at, and it would be naive to think they didn’t see something coming. Showalter said he tried to assuage the worries of guys who had established themselves in New York — brought over families — but felt they were at risk of being cut.
“It’s tough,” Seth Lugo said. “You hate to see people go, but it’s part of the game. You wish the best for Robby . . . Veteran guy. He always had an experienced presence. He’s been around for so long and won a World Series and was trying to get back to that.
“I remember when he first came over, that was the biggest thing I took from him — he’s been there, to a World Series, and won one. We were trying to get another one with him, but that’s the way it goes.”
Laura Albanese is a reporter, feature writer and columnist covering local professional sports teams; she began at Newsday in 2007 as an intern.
