But the rumors are out there, and now word comes that the five-time All-Star's reps met with Mariner execs in Seattle on Tuesday.
“The meeting went very well,” a source told the New York Post.
So will the M's, who have had four straight losing seasons, be able to lure Cano away from the New York Yankees? Based on a report Wednesday in the New York Daily News, they're doing their darndest to make it happen.
"Source: Mariners going after Robinson Cano 'guns-a-blazing'" — NY Daily News Sports (@NYDNSports)
The source also said that the Mariners may be offering more money than the Yankees at this point.
Cano's agents recently presented a request for about $260 million over nine years to the Yankees. The team countered with an offer of $160 million to $175 million over seven years. Since then, they Yankees have agreed to a seven-year, $153 million deal with free agent Jacoby Ellsbury.
The Ellsbury deal doesn't necessarily preclude the Yanks from re-signing the 31-year-old Cano.
Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik declined to comment specifically about Cano on Wednesday.
"I think any time you are engaging or attempting to engage or having ongoing discussions or even any hints of any kinds of things, you have to keep it in house. We have a lot of dialogue going on a lot of fronts," he said in a conference call with reporters, per The Seattle Times.
Cano has been one of baseball's top players, finishing with a Baseball Reference WAR of at least 7.6 three of the last four seasons. In 2013, he hit .314/.383/.516 with 27 homers and New York's only consistent source of offense. He finished fifth in MVP voting.
The Mariners finished 12th in the AL in runs scored in 2013 and could use Cano's bit bat in the middle of their lineup.
ANGELS: NO TRUMBO DEAL
Rumors have circulated all offseason that the Los Angels are interested in trading slugging 1B Mark Trumbo for pitching help. You can put those rumors to rest, at least for now.
"We haven't been out there shopping Trumbo," Angels GM Jerry Dipoto told the Los Angeles Times. "At the end of the day, our intention is to keep our team together and solve our starting pitching issues as best we can."
The Boston Red Sox reportedly were one of the teams eyeing the 27-year-old Trumbo, who has emerged as one of the AL's top power hitters, hitting 95 home runs over the last three seasons. He finished fourth in the league with 34 dingers while driving in 100 runs in 2013. But he hit just .234 with a .294 on-base percentage.
The Angels were one of baseball's most disappointing teams in 2013, in large part because of subpar pitching. The team was fifth worst in the American League in terms of runs allowed (737) and ERA (4.24). They are looking to add two starters to a rotation that includes Jered Weaver, C.J. Wilson and Garrett Richards.
Free agents Bronson Arroyo, Matt Garza, Chris Capuano, Scott Feldman and A.J. Burnett among the team's possible targets, the Times reports.
KONERKO RETURNS TO WHITE SOX
Paul Konerko, the veteran slugger and team captain who didn't want his career to end on such a sour note, is returning to the Chicago White Sox for another season.
The team announced Wednesday that the six-time American League All-Star agreed to a one-year, $2.5 million contract, opting to come back rather than retire or sign elsewhere.
The 37-year-old Konerko will receive $1.5 million in 2014 and $1 million in 2021 under the deal. He will also be paid $1 million annually from 2014 to 2020 under the contract he signed in December 2010.
The White Sox won just 63 games last season after finishing second in the AL Central the previous year, and Konerko struggled in a big way.
He dealt with a back issue and batted .244 with just 12 homers and 54 RBIs. Even so, the White Sox had said they would have a spot for Konerko if he wanted to return, and he's coming back in a more limited role.
"I was really planning on last year being it for me — having a good year, solid year, team doing at least good if not better and then saying, 'OK, that's it,'" Konerko said. "Everything went to shambles. Every single direction you could equate something last year, it was a disaster. To have the opportunity to come back in a lesser role, I'm kind of a good employee to have because I have no future, no agenda."
The White Sox aren't necessarily counting on him to regain the form that made that made him one of the most successful sluggers in franchise history. They see him as a clubhouse leader and a mentor for newcomer Jose Abreu, the Cuban slugger they signed in October.
Konerko, who in 15 seasons with the White Sox ranks second on the franchise list to Frank Thomas in homers and RBIs, will back up Abreu at first base and see time at designated hitter along with Adam Dunn.
Contributors: Justin McGuire, Tom Gatto, The Associated Press
