Ranking the Best Second Baseman in Mariners Team History

Mariners #1: Robinson Cano – 20.7 fWAR

There has been a lot said about Cano and the contract that he signed with the Mariners. There are plenty of people out there who think that it was a bad deal, and only ended up being good because the Mariners managed to get Justin Dunn and Jarred Kelenic in the deal with the Mets.

However, I don’t think that’s true. Cano wasn’t performing quite as he did with the Yankees, but he was still putting together some really good seasons with the Mariners, and was actually a bit of a surplus for the team.

Now, you can argue that if he would’ve stuck around, we would’ve had to deal with the second suspension and the back end of the contract. It’s a fair argument. That isn’t the case though, and this isn’t an edition of What-if Wednesday.

Cano was here for five years and played on the field for 4.5 of them. He had a 5.6 fWAR season when he got to the Mariners, a 6.3 two years later, and a 2.9 during that final season with the M’s when he played just 80 games. All in all, he was pretty good when he was here, and put together a solid stat line.

.296/.353/.472, with 159 2B and 107 HR. 389 R and 411 RBI. He was a solid defender as well. He was somewhere around a $35-45 surplus while he was here, and gave the Mariners a great option at second and a strong bat in the lineup. It’s why Cano takes the top spot as the best second baseman in team history.