The end of the Mets’ season is just two days away, and with that conclusion comes the end of Robinson Cano’s 162-game suspension, which he has served all year for testing positive for anabolic steroids last November.
When Cano returns for spring training next year, there will be some new faces in the clubhouse, like Francisco Lindor, who has emerged as a team leader after signing a record-breaking contract just before the start of this season. And Lindor hopes Cano will express his sorrow for missing out on an entire season with the Mets.
“He probably has to apologize,” Lindor told the New York Post. “I am assuming that is what he is going to do when he comes back and just talk to the group and address the group and just be sincere and honest with himself and with us.”
Cano, brought along in the trade that included Edwin Diaz prior to the 2019 season, has played in just 156 games for the Mets, including 49 last year, when he showed he can still be a difference at the plate, batting .316 with an .896 OPS in the pandemic shortened season. New York certainly could have used that kind of production this year, with established bats like Lindor and Michael Conforto struggling for much of the season, but a second steroid-related suspension eliminated any chance of that.
While Cano let the team down, Lindor doesn’t expect there to be any harbored resentment when the soon-to-be 39-year-old returns.
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“He’s got to be honest with the group, but I know at the end of the day he’s a man, and we all make mistakes, and he’s been in the game for a long time,” Lindor said. “Most of the guys that are playing right now looked up to him when we were growing up. I was one of the guys who looked up to him and seeing him on the biggest stage doing it and then playing against him, playing with him in All-Star Games and stuff, he was always fun.”
Cano, a seven-time All-Star, was suspended for half a season after testing positive with the Mariners in 2018, and before that had been a reliable presence, playing in at least 150 games a season dating back to 2007 with the Yankees. Over his 16-year career, he holds a .303 batting average, though his latest suspension likely eliminated any chance of making the Hall of Fame.
For starters, Lindor would just like to see Cano make right with his teammates.
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