THIS DAY IN BÉISBOL December 3: Mariners deal Robinson Cano, Edwin Diaz to the Mets

Robinson Cano was five seasons into his 10-year, $240,000,000 contract when the Seattle Mariners’ second baseman was traded to the Mets in a salary dump deal that had closer Edwin Diaz also going to New York on this day in béisbol, December 3, 2018.

Cano, 35, had some enjoyed some good years in Seattle after putting up Hall of Fame-worthy numbers in nine years with the Yankees, but he was suspended 80 games for PED use in the middle of the 2018 season.

The Mariners front office was looking for some salary relief and included him with Diaz in a trade for four no-names. Diaz, 24, of Puerto Rico was coming off a great year. He led MLB with 57 saves, a Mariners record, to go with a 1.96 ERA and 124 Ks in 73 innings.

Cano would be suspended for PED use again in May 2022 as a Met and played a handful of games with the Padres and Braves that season. He’d go on to play in the Mexican and Dominican leagues into his early forties.

Also on this day: In 2019, Red Sox sluggers and former teammates David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez were inducted into the team’s Hall of Fame. Ortiz made MLB’s Hall in 2022. Ramirez was suspended twice for violating MLB’s PED policy, once as a Dodger and the other while with the Tampa Bay Rays.

All-Pro Reels, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; LatinoBaseball.com illustration