All Things Robinson Cano

This is a bad signing because...

The Mariners have one player on the roster under contract beyond 2014: Felix Hernandez. King Felix is far and away the most valuable player at Safeco, but the Mariners have up-and-coming players that are about to start earning larger paychecks. Hisashi Iwakuma will be a very important resign, even with the Mariners' eye-opening pitching depth. Kyle Seager is the future of third base, and should be priority 1A behind Iwakuma. Justin Smoak and Michael Saunders will get long looks, as well. With Cano taking up approximately $24 million annually in cap space, and Felix earning 25 million per year, things might be tight financially. Unless Iwakuma and Seager take home town discounts, the Mariners will have quite a bit of money locked up in only a few players. This can be a killer for small to mid-market sized teams.

This is a great signing because...

The Mariners have the frontline pitching. Felix Hernandez is among the elite pitchers in baseball, and might still be underrated. The young, huge upside pitching is there; Taijuan Walker, James Paxton and Danny Hultzen give the Mariners farm system pitching depth that nearly every team envies. What isn't there is offense. In 2013, Seattle ranked in the bottom third in nearly every significant offensive category. Cano is the type of player that can step in and immediately boost the teams on-base percentage (where the team ranked 26th in 2013), can provide a 100 RBI season (Seattle ranked 21st in RBI's), and can make a serious contribution in terms of slugging percentage (where Seattle was ranked 20th).

This could lead to...

There is a growing sentiment around baseball that a small market team signing a big market free agent will make the dominos fall; more large market players will follow in their footsteps and want to play for small clubs. This concept has caught fire in the hours since Cano inked his deal with the Mariners. Executives are now telling reporters that they expect much more to come from Seattle. They expect premiere free agents (or what is left of them) to visit with the Mariners. Possible additions later in this offseason could include the king of on-base percentage, Shin Soo Choo, utility man Omar Infante, or buy-low All Star Nelson Cruz. Any of the three would make an already solid off season into a franchise changing one.

If they can't bring in another premiere free agent...

If Seattle doesn't make another significant transaction, and leaves the team as is, this off season will go down as a "could have been". If Choo, Infante, or Cruz don't end up at Safeco, trades need to be made. One trade being discussed league wide involves Rays ace and 2012 AL Cy Young Award winner David Price. A rotation that included King Felix, Iwakuma, and Price would be unfair to hitters Walker, Hultzen, and Paxton would be included in that list if there was any way Seattle could keep that trifecta. That seems unrealistic, though. Walker would almost certainly be shipped to Tampa Bay, along with a host of others. Walker projects to be an ace, front line starter, is very young, and is under team control. Price, on the other hand, becomes a free agent in 2016. He is just entering his prime, and is a top 3-5 pitcher in all of baseball. Is it better to have young, huge upside players under team control, or a super star for possibly only three years? This is the decision the Mariners' front office will likely be faced with.

This looks just like the Albert Pujols deal...

From a monetary perspective, Cano's deal looks very similar to the contract that is going to cripple the Los Angeles Angels for the next 8 years. The few fans opposed to this acquisition are using the Pujols' mistake as a sign of imminent doom for the Mariners. Before jumping off the cliff, though, look carefully at the career numbers of each player. Per Baseball Reference, Pujols has declined sharply in every category since 2009. His home run totals, batting average, OBP, and slugging percentage have decreased every year since '09. Cano has yet to show any signs of regression. Cano is, and has been, the model of consistency. Anyone capable of reading a stats sheet could see that Pujols' was on a decline, and should have been offered a short term deal. That case can not be made for the Mariners' new second baseman, though.

How this impacts other Mariners...

Fans looking forward to seeing Nick Franklin take over at second base are out of luck, as that experiment is officially over. Franklin was expected to be the second baseman of the future in Seattle, especially after the Dustin Ackley failure. Franklin will almost certainly be shopped, and could be a part of the aforementioned Price trade.