When the New York Mets kick off their spring training next week, Robinson Cano will be one of the big absentees at Clover Park in Port St. Lucie, Florida.
The 38-year old eight-time All-Star second baseman will be out of action throughout the summer of 2021 and will serve a second suspension for violation of the Major League Baseball anti-doping program. And out, it really means out.
“Cano cannot play in the major leagues, nor in the minor leagues, neither in an Asian or Mexican league, nor in an independent league. Basically, he can only play in the winter league in his country,” he said. ESPN Digital a source close to the Major League Baseball Players Association (Mlbpa).
“We generally allow players suspended under the drug program to be in the stadium for training purposes if the club and the player so choose,” added Michael Teevan, vice president of communications for the commissioner’s office (MLB). ).
“The player cannot be on the field with the doors open to the public. They cannot wear a uniform during the match. We allow players to continue training on the club grounds during a suspension, training and perfecting their game,” added the spokesperson added.
On November 18, Commissioner Rob Manfred reported that Cano had been suspended for the second time in his career for testing positive for stanozolol, an anabolic steroid. Canó was suspended for 80 games in May 2018 when he played for the Seattle Mariners after testing positive for furosemide, a diuretic that some athletes use to cover up the use of other substances.
A second positive result automatically takes the player off the field for 162 games, the equivalent of an entire Major League season. That said, Canó won’t get a single cent of the $ 24 million 2021 salary that stipulates the $ 240 million 10-year contract he signed with the Mariners in December 2013.
The Mets will still have to pay $ 48 million for the last two seasons (2022 and 2023) of the deal they inherited when they acquired Canó from Seattle in December 2018.
Canó joined the Eastern Stars of the Dominican Professional Baseball League (Lidom) for the final games of the winter season and later joined champion Águilas Cibaeñas as reinforcement to the Caribbean Series that was played last week in Mazatlán, Mexico.
The Eagles have already won their seven meetings in Mexico to give the Dominican Republic its second consecutive Caribbean title and 21st of all time.
Canó, who batted 20-7 and was chosen into the ideal team of the series, was one of the members of the championship team invited to the national palace by President Luis Abinader.
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Dominican players recognized the work of Yadier Molina.
“Spend it as a family, dedicate myself to my children and continue to physically prepare for the next winter league and the next Major League season,” Canó told radio show Grandes en los Deportes (92.5 FM) on Wednesday about how he plans use the entire time he will be available before changing to a Major League uniform.
“A lot of people approached me, but I didn’t take that into account. I’ll think about it later,” Canó said of the possibility of playing somewhere to stay in shape.
The MLB-MLBPA Joint Drug Program, which was revised in 2014, states that a first violation will result in an 80-game suspension without payment. The second offense by a player will result in an unpaid suspension of 162 games and the third in a permanent suspension from baseball.
Any player suspended for anti-doping violation will not be eligible to participate in the postseason during the season in which their suspension begins. He is also not eligible to attend the All-Star Game.
Point three of the suspension chapter of Major League Baseball’s anti-doping policy reads:
“A player suspended for a violation of the program may participate in spring training and extended training. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any player who is not eligible for reinstatement of suspension within the first forty (40) games of the following season ( that is in the case of Canó), he will be prohibited from participating in any major league or minor league spring training game in which tickets are sold. “
On the other hand, the MLB and MLBPA had to negotiate a change to the system because of the case of Dominican-American third baseman Alex Rodríguez, a former teammate of Canó with the New York Yankees. Rodriguez disputed (and won) in court that the Yankees had to pay him a portion of his 2014 salary (originally $ 25 million), even though he was banned from all 162 games of the season.
“A-Rod” was able to raise nearly $ 6 million (a $ 3 million bonus scheduled for January, three months before opening day, and $ 2.9 million off the regular paycheck) due to the discrepancy between games the days (183) that make up a season. Major League players receive their salary for the duration of the season, not for their team’s games.
That was all cleared up and since then a player suspended for the entire season has to give up all his salary for the entire year. He must also be out of the field for the appointed time.
And that’s what Canó will have to do, at least until the next winter season in his country. “It’s what I intend. I’ll be with the Stars early and hopefully we can win the championship,” he said.