Now that second baseman Robinson Cano has reportedly accepted a 10-year, $240 million contract to leave the Yankees for the Mariners, we can open the floodgates on some anonymously-sourced bad-mouthing. We have our first such story from the Cano side of things, courtesy of George A. King III of the New York Post:

“Robbie didn’t like batting second, he wanted to bat in the middle of the order,’’ one person said. “The Yankees wanted him second because that was best for the team. He wanted to hit in the middle of the order to drive in runs [to increase his value].’’ Through the middle of June, Cano shuttled between second and third in a lineup that didn’t have Derek Jeter to hit second or Rodriguez in the cleanup spot. For the season, Cano batted third in 110 games, hitting .319 with 16 homers, 73 RBIs and an OPS of .886. As the No. 2 hitter in 42 games, he hit .308 with 10 homers, 30 RBIs and a .955 OPS. “He told me he didn’t want to play for [Girardi],’’ a friend of Cano’s said.

Maybe Cano didn’t like batting second. Maybe Cano didn’t like playing for Girardi. Both plausible scenarios. And it certainly makes for juicy gossip after the fact. But as King says in the article, it’s safe to assume that neither were important factors in his decision to choose the Mariners. As most of these situations go, it ultimately came down to the money. If the right offer was there from the Yankees, Cano likely would have found some way to play for Girardi — and possibly hit second again — in 2014 and beyond. But it just wasn’t. That’s not as exciting as anonymous mudslinging, but it’s the reality of the situation.

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