METS ACQUIRE EIGHT-TIME ALL-STAR ROBINSON CANÓ &
2018 AL RELIEVER OF THE YEAR EDWIN DĺAZ FROM SEATTLE
FLUSHING, N.Y., December 3, 2018 – The New York Mets announced today that the club has acquired eight-time All-Star infielder Robinson Canó, 2018 Mariano Rivera American League Reliever of the Year RHP Edwin Díaz and cash from the Seattle Mariners in exchange for outfielder Jay Bruce, RHP Anthony Swarzak, RHP Gerson Bautista, minor league RHP Justin Dunn and minor league outfielder Jarred Kelenic.
Canó, 36, is a two-time Gold Glove Award winner (2010, 2012) and a five-time Silver Slugger recipient (2006, 2010-2013). He ranks second in major league history in home runs among second basemen with 296. Jeff Kent is first with 351. Canó is one of three second basemen (career primary position) in MLB history to record 1,100 runs, 2,000 hits, 500 doubles, 300 homers and 1,200 RBI joining Rogers Hornsby and Kent.
Canó batted .303 (94-310) with 22 doubles, 10 homers, 50 RBI, 44 runs scored and a .374 OBP in 80 games for the Mariners last year. The 6-0, 212-pounder hit .333 (36-108) vs. lefties, ranking third in the majors among lefthanded batters (min. 100 PA). He played in 150 or more games 11 straight years from 2007-2017. He has twice led the American League in fielding percentage by a second baseman (.996 in 2010 and .996 in 2016).
Canó has collected 769 extra-base hits since 2007, the second-most in the majors behind Miguel Cabrera (781). The San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic native is tied for 40th place with Lou Gehrig on MLB’s all-time doubles list with 534. He ranks in the top five among active players in hits (fourth), doubles (third), RBI (third) and runs (fifth).
He has hit .304 (2,470-8,112) with 534 doubles, 33 triples, 311 homers, 1,233 RBI, 1,188 runs scored, a .355 OBP and a .493 slugging percentage in 2,078 games with the Yankees (2005-2013) and Mariners (2014-2018).
Canó, who has five years remaining on his contract, established the RC22 Foundation in 2011 to provide hope to sick and underprivileged children in New York City and the Dominican Republic and in 2015, he opened the RC22 DREAM School and early childhood education center in San Pedro de Macoris.
Díaz, 24, led the majors with 57 saves last season, which was tied for the second-highest total in major league history with Bobby Thigpen (1990 White Sox), trailing only Francisco Rodriguez (62 saves with 2008 Angels). He was named to his first All-Star team and had a 1.96 ERA (16 earned runs/73.1 innings) in 2018.
Díaz ranked second among all relievers with 124 strikeouts, led AL relievers in WHIP (0.79), second in opponents’ OBP (.229), third in strikeouts per 9.0 innings (15.22), third in ERA, fourth in opponents’ slugging percentage (.241) and fifth in opponents’ batting average (.160) last season.
The Humacao, Puerto Rico native became only the second reliever in MLB history with 50 or more saves and 100 or more strikeouts in a season, joining Eric Gagne (2002-2003) and posted the seventh-best FanGraphs WAR (3.5) for a single-season among all relievers since 2000.
Díaz, who is under team control through 2022, established a single-season major league record with 27 saves when entering with a one-run lead and the Mariners were 66-0 in 2018 when he entered a game with a lead. The 6-3, 165-pounder has 301 strikeouts and 64 walks over 191.0 career innings, 109 saves and a 2.64 ERA spanning his first three major league seasons.
Bruce, 31, is a three-time All-Star, who hit .223 (71-319) with nine homers and 37 RBI in 94 games last year. Over his 11-year major league career, Bruce has batted .247 (1,365-5,524) with 286 home runs and 875 RBI.
Swarzak, 33, went 0-2 with a 6.15 ERA (18 earned runs/26.1 innings) in 29 games in 2018. He is 23-32 with six saves and a 4.30 ERA (281 earned runs/587.2 innings) in 316 major league games with the Twins, Indians, Yankees, White Sox, Brewers and Mets.
Bautista, 23, appeared in five games for the Mets and went 4-2 with a 5.74 ERA (34 earned runs/53.1 innings) in 42 minor league games last year.
Dunn, 23, was 8-8 with a 3.59 ERA (54 earned runs/135.1 innings) with 156 strikeouts in 24 combined minor league starts between Binghamton (AA) of the Eastern League and St. Lucie (A) of the Florida State League last year. He was the 19th overall pick in the 2016 First-Year Player Draft.
Kelenic, 19, hit .286 (63-220) with 10 doubles, six triples, six homers and 42 RBI in 56 minor league games between the rookie-level Gulf Coast Mets and Kingsport (R) of the Appalachian League last year. He was the sixth overall selection in the 2018 First-Year Player Draft.
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