According to Greg Johns of MLB.com, the Mariners have given Robinson Cano permission to play a limited number of games in the Dominican Winter League as he makes his way back from a broken toe.
Cano suffered a broken right pinkie toe when he was hit in the foot by a pitch during the Japan Series in November. The 32-year-old was held out of baseball activities for about a month, but he’s now fully recovered. Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik said Cano just wants to test his toe in game action prior to spring training.
Cano will be entering the second season of his 10-year, $240 million contract with Seattle. While his power was down a bit in 2014, he still proved plenty valuable by batting .314/.382/.454 with 14 home runs, 82 RBI, and 10 stolen bases. He has appeared in at least 157 games over the past eight seasons. That’s not quite Cal Ripken, Jr. or anything, but it’s pretty good.