Mets cut slumping Robinson Canó with almost $45 million left on deal

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Three years after Robinson Canó returned to New York, his ill-fated marriage with the Mets is over.

Canó was cut Monday with nearly $45 million remaining on his contract, possibly signaling the end of his decorated major league career. The veteran slugger wants to keep playing ball — but he'll have to catch on elsewhere.

"I don't think it's over for Robbie," New York manager Buck Showalter said. "But we've got to think about what's right for the Mets right now."

A slumping Canó was designated for assignment in a move announced about an hour before teams were required to trim their active rosters from 28 players to 26. Relegated to a part-time role this season, Canó was a casualty of the crunch as the first-place Mets chose to keep younger, more versatile bench players instead.

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ST LOUIS, MO - APRIL 25: Robinson Cano #24 of the New York Mets looks on against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium on April 25, 2022 in St Louis, Missouri. (Joe Puetz/Getty Images)

"Given the construction of the roster and how the playing time was going to be allocated, it put us in a position where we had to make some difficult decisions," Mets general manager Billy Eppler said. "Ultimately it came to the point where it was Robbie, because we just weren't going to have the plate appearances."

The 39-year-old Canó, who sat out last season while serving his second suspension for performance-enhancing drugs, is batting .195 (8 for 41) with one home run, three RBIs and a paltry .501 OPS in 43 plate appearances. He homered to the opposite field with a vintage swing in the home opener April 15 against Arizona, but