All Things Bubba

Dunno if anything will come of it, but the Dodgers have inquired about Robinson Cano.

The teams are expected to renew their talks about Cano at the winter meetings, and the Yankees again figure to ask for outfielder Matt Kemp. Cano, however, is red-hot in winter ball, and the Yankees will value him as the offensive machine he was in 2006 and '07, not the player who slumped in '08...

I'm not quite sure what to make of Cano. More and more, he's reminding me of a previous Yankees second baseman: Alphonso Soriano. Great hitter, not so great plate discipline, and a bit of a headcase. Well, headcase may be too strong a word. But Cano, like Sori before him, is a bit immature, and doesn't seem to be learning from experience. I think he will have an impressive career, but perhaps not with the Yankees.

Nice that he's doing well in winterball...but Melky did well in winterball last year, and it didn't translate to the big leagues.

Speaking of which...some have suggested that Cano and Melky both would do better if they weren't playing together. Though I don't think Melky has much trade value at this point.

My guess is Cashman wouldn't want to trade Cano. Maybe it's 20-20 hindsight, but it seems like he holds onto his players too long. Melky's peak value was two years ago. They could have gotten a lot more for Scott Proctor if they'd traded him earlier, too. And Girardi tried to trade for Bubba in the spring of 2006, and was rebuffed.

Also, it's not like the Yanks have anyone who can play second base better than Cano. If they trade Robby, they'll have to trade for a replacement, too.

I get the feeling that some in the Yankees organization are a bit fed up with Cano's attitude, but with his talent, I think they'll be patient with him.