Atlanta Braves vs. NL East Position by Position 2020 Preview: Second Base
By Steven Teal
New York Mets
Fangraphs projected WAR at 2B: 1.6 (Cano)
It’s not hard to see why Cano is fourth on this list. He has the potential to always put up big numbers, but ever since serving his suspension for PED use in 2018, he’s not been the same player that he once was.
Last year was a season marked with disappointment for the 15-year veteran. His season was shortened by multiple quad injuries and a partially torn hamstring, and that was probably for the best.
He finished 2019 with a line of .256/.307/.428 with a .736 OPS including 13 homers and 39 RBI in 107 games.
His production wasn’t consistent for the Mets pretty much the entire season. It wasn’t until he took a chunk of time to recover from his hamstring injury that he returned to the form Mets fans were expecting him to be in.
After his return from the hamstring injury, Cano batted .277/.364/.492 to wrap up a rather unproductive season.
That’s not to say he won’t bounce back and have a great season for the Mets, but it all depends on his health and the ability to maintain it.
As for his defense, Cano has been known to be one of the better defenders in baseball but 2019 was a rough one for him with a DRS of -6 and -0.8 UZR.
I’d be wary as a Mets fan because you don’t know what you’re going to get with Cano and there’s no clear replacement for him should he continue to struggle.
Jed Lowrie has yet to be any benefit to the Mets and his health is also still in question. Definitely not a fun spot to be in if you’re running the Mets organization.