Why Trade Cano?

I cannot, for the life of me, figure out why people around the Yankees are even talking about trading Robinson Cano. Yes, Cano did have a terrible season in which he only hit .271 and had a terrifying .305 OBP. His power numbers failed to increase as well, which is also concerning because many within the Yankees believe that Cano will eventually have 20-25 HR potential. Furthermore, Cano was also terrible defensively throughout the season because he would have strange lapses where he wouldn't go hard after a ball or simply look lackadaisical going after a ground ball. There is no question that the 2008 season was a step back for Cano, but there are so many more reasons not to trade this guy away.

1. Even though I feel like he's been around forever (2005!), Cano is still only 25 years old (26 on Opening Day). You don't find too many 25 year olds with Cano's ability.

2. Second base is too hard of a position to fill. Look, I know that Cano stunk up the joint this year, but if you trade him away, who ya gonna go get? Unless his name is Orlando Hudson, there is no one else out there.

3. His potential is ridiculous. As a 23 year old, Cano hit .342 in 482 ABs and in 2007, Cano hit 19 HR and 97 RBI for the Yankees while primarily hitting in the bottom of the order. Anyone remember when then Yankee manager Joe Torre compared Cano to a young Rod Carew? I think Torre has a good idea what he's talking about with Cano.

4. Check out the splits for Cano this season. What stands out at you?

By Day/Month AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB HBP SO SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS April 106 6 16 3 0 2 7 7 1 14 0 2 .151 .211 .236 .447 May 95 13 28 7 0 2 12 5 1 6 1 1 .295 .333 .432 .765 June 101 13 29 7 0 2 14 2 1 6 0 0 .287 .302 .416 .718 July 101 11 33 6 1 3 17 3 1 9 0 1 .327 .352 .495 .847 August 100 14 29 4 2 4 10 7 0 18 0 0 .290 .336 .490 .826 September 94 13 27 8 0 1 12 2 1 12 1 0 .287 .303 .404 .707 Cano had a miserable April. From then on, he was good, not great. But if you take away April from Cano's stats, Robby would have hit around .290 for the season. That looks alot better than the .271 batting average he finished with for the season. 5. Money, money, money! At the end of last season, Cano signed a 4 year/$28 mil dollar extension with the Yankees that runs through 2011. Even with his down year, that contract is still regarded as very good amongst baseball people, who will watch Orlando Hudson probably approach a $35-$40 million dollar contract this season. Given his age and potential, I would still take Cano over Hudson any day.

Mr. Cashman, please use some common sense and hold onto Cano (unless your planning on trading Cano to Flushing). We'll gladly take him.