Rumors flew Friday that Robinson Cano or the agency that represents him chartered a plane to Detroit to meet with the Tigers on either Thursday or Friday, reports Chris Iott of MLive.com.
Robinson Cano free agency: Rumors fly that 2B or agent met with Tigers
A chartered plane went from New York to Detroit. Could the mystery passenger have been Robinson Cano?
Mike Stobe
There have been no confirmations that the two sides met. However, the Detroit News reports that a private jet was indeed chartered Friday from just outside New York City in New Jersey that flew in to a small airport in Ypsilanti, Michigan, just west of Detroit. Such a trip would cost roughly $32,000. Airport employees would not disclose information about who was on board the plane. Cano is represented by Roc Nation Sports, headed by entertainment mogul Jay Z.
Bless You Boys: Dave Dombrowski shoots down Robinson Cano to Detroit talk
The Tigers have kept tight-lipped about any meetings they may have had. When asked, general manager Dave Dombrowski said, "We plan on having Ian Kinsler as our second baseman this year."
Kinsler was recently acquired in a mega-trade that saw Prince Fielder shipped to Texas. Detroit made the deal in part to free up financial space for possible extensions to Max Scherzer and Miguel Cabrera. That makes it unlikely they would spend a boatload of money on someone else, especially a second baseman. It is possible that the team could make room at second for Cano, either via trade or by keeping Cabrera at third, playing Victor Martinez or Kinsler at first and having the other DH. But that seems unlikely, at best.
Even if the two sides did meet, it could have been under similar circumstances as when Jay Z met with the Mets earlier in the week. That meeting was set up by Cano’s side and the Mets do not seem willing to seriously attempt to sign Cano. The market thus far has been light for the star second baseman, who is reportedly hoping to sign a $300 million contract.
For now, however, Cano meeting with the Tigers appears to be just a rumor based on nothing concrete.
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