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Blu-ray Duke
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Robinson Cano was spotted in Detroit today
Quote:
November 22, 2013 at 7:14 pm
Did Robinson Cano take a private jet to Detroit today? Tigers aren't talking
Boston Red Sox v New York Yankees
Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano is, easily, the best free agent on the market this offseason. (Rich Schultz / Getty Images)
Detroit — Say this much for the Tigers: They’re never boring.
Even when they might not be working on anything significant — and there certainly is nothing firm to suggest there’s anything to the rampant Robinson Cano-in-town rumors that took over Twitter on Friday — Dave Dombrowski and Co. still manage to be super intriguing.
Here, for the record, is what we know about the Cano rumblings: Not much.
Apparently, there was a post on Twitter early Friday that Cano — the New York Yankees second baseman who is universally considered the best free agent on the market — might have been spotted at under-the-radar Willow Run Airport in Ypsilanti.
And just that little, unconfirmed nugget sent the Tigers fan base into a tizzy, wondering if Dombrowski, the Tigers president and general manager, would seriously consider ponying up $200 million or more just days after shedding most of the remaining $168 million on Prince Fielder’s contract in a stunning trade with the Rangers. That deal also happened to net the Tigers another All-Star second baseman, in Ian Kinsler.
Now, this might be just coincidence. There’s a good chance that it is.
But ...
There was, indeed, a charter plane that took off from Teterboro, N.J., about a half-hour outside New York City, at 6:59 a.m. Friday and landed at Willow Run 90 minutes later. The plane then sat at Willow Run until 2:04 p.m., when it headed back to Teterboro. The plane in question is a Kelso Air-owned business jet, a Bombardier Challenger 600, which seats between 14 and 18 passengers. This plane could cost as much as $4,100 per hour to charter, or more than $32,000 for this particular eight-plus-hour trip — impressive, to be sure, but not much of a dent for someone who made, say, $15 million in salary in 2013.
This jet also has made no other recent trips to Michigan. Its recent getaways include such locales as Augusta, Ga. (home of swanky Augusta National Golf Club); Bermuda; Sacramento, Calif.; San Diego; and Chicago.
There was no word from either airport on whether Cano had been on board. An employee in the administration office at Teterboro said even if he had that information, he couldn’t disclose it. There was no answer at Willow Run on Friday evening.
Now, how do we know Cano is even in the United States right now, and not home in the Dominican Republic? Truth be told, we don’t. However, there’s a reasonably good chance he has remained in New York for the time being. He is, after all, searching for a new contract. And just the other day, he did attend an A-list party in New York City.
Cano’s hip-hop agent, meanwhile, is Jay Z — who was in Oklahoma City on Thursday night, sitting courtside for an NBA game. (He also represents Thunder star Kevin Durant.) There was no direct flight listed from Oklahoma City to Willow Run. But Jay Z also is said to have his own private plane, and thus would have the ability to file a request with the FAA to be excluded from the publicly accessible flight-tracker websites.
So, what do the Tigers have to say about all this? Zip, per usual.
Asked to debunk the rumors that Cano was in Detroit on Friday, one official texted The News, “Don’t know his schedule.” A spokesman for the Tigers, when asked if Dombrowski and Cano did meet, officially provided a “no comment.”
Cano, 31, at least on the surface, doesn’t seem to be the perfect fit with the Tigers — who were thrilled to recently free up payroll flexibility, while acquiring a star second baseman. That said, the Tigers still do have to make up for lost offense — Fielder’s gone, and Jhonny Peralta and Omar Infante probably will be playing elsewhere, too — and they always seem to have a flair for the dramatic during hot-stove season, when their billionaire owner, Mike Ilitch, so often gets star-struck.
There are numerous theories how Cano could fit. One has Kinsler moving to third, and then Miguel Cabrera to first. Another has Kinsler moving to left field, which would allow them to take their time breaking in top prospect Nick Castellanos, or moving Castellanos back to third and Cabrera to first. Or the Tigers, theoretically, could trade Kinsler before he even plays one game with them. His no-trade power is limited.
During the 2013 season, there were rumblings Cano, the five-time All-Star, would be seeking the largest contract in baseball history, even in excess of $300 million. Nobody will bite on that, not even for a guy who over the last five years has averaged .314/.369/.530 with 28 homers and 103 RBIs. He also has won two Gold Gloves, and five Silver Sluggers, handed out to the best offensive player at each position.
For a more reasonable price, certainly, a number of teams will be interested in Cano’s services.
And the Tigers certainly could be among them. Or that could just be nothing more than another juicy rumor.
In any event, there’s never a dull moment, not with this team, and not this time of year.
tpaul@detroitnews.com
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. 5 year 85 million dollar deal. Don't like this deal just because of the years. The short porch in right field would play well to McCann though. At least I won't have to suffer through the have-nots at catcher this year.
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