Robinson Canó Elects Free Agency After San Diego Padres Option to Triple-A

After hitting just .091 in 12 games with the San Diego Padres, the club has decided to option second baseman Robinson Canó to Triple-A El Paso, calling up Nomar Mazara. Canó then elected for free agency.

Robinson Canó has experienced quite a fall from grace in recent years, starting with a positive PED test in 2018 and a second in 2021, the latter of which suspended him for the entire 2021 season.

The 2022 season hasn't treated him much better as he's had not much success for two different clubs, just electing for free agency after being optioned down to Triple-A El Paso by the San Diego Padres on Thursday.

The #Padres have selected OF Nomar Mazara to the Major League roster.

To create room on the roster, INF Robinson Canó was optioned to Triple-A El Paso and elected free agency.

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) June 2, 2022

In 12 games with the Padres, Canó hit .091 with a -37 OPS+, recording just three hits and one RBI.

Earlier this season, the second baseman was DFA'd from the New York Mets after a slightly better performance, hitting just .195 in 12 games with a 45 OPS+.

If you're looking to average out those together, in 24 games during the 2022 season, Robinson Canó, is hitting .142 with a .371 OPS and a 9 OPS+.

This is a player who is eight-time All-Star, a five-time Silver Slugger Award winner and a two-time Gold Glove Award winner.

However, he's also a player who has missed 242 games since 2018 due to those aforementioned PED suspensions.

Even through that, Canó still posted solid numbers in 80 games in 2018 and 49 games in the Covid-shortened 2020 season. In 2018, Canó had a 136 OPS+ and in 2020, he was even better, posting a 143 OPS+, the third-highest of his career.

Keep in mind that 2020 was different from the rest as teams only played 60 games, but he still played over 75 percent of the season for the Mets.

In his place, the Padres called up Nomar Mazara from Triple-A El Paso. Mazara played in 50 games with the Detroit Tigers in 2021, hitting .212 with a .597 OPS. 

He's most known for his time with the Texas Rangers, where he had three 20-homer seasons and batted around .261 with a .754 OPS.

As for Canó, there are no current rumors as to where he might get signed, but considering his performance so far, the lack of a 2021 season has played a massive role in his 2022 struggles, among other things.

Mazara started on Thursday night for the Padres in his first game of the 2022 season.