Why are the Padres signing Robinson Cano?

The San Diego Padres are about to sign a potential Hall of Famer who is at the end of his career, but there's a lot more to this signing than meets the eye.

After the New York Mets released Robinson Canó a few days ago, the rumors began to swirl that the San Diego Padres might be interested in signing him.

At first, this made pretty good sense. Luke Voit was struggling with his swing in Triple-A and adding another DH to the team until Voit could return would be helpful for this lineup (also, the Padres are a little too right-handed in their lineup, and a lefty bat could help with that too.)

But then Voit came back and hit a couple of balls to Balboa Park and…the Padres are still signing Robinson Canó?

Dennis Lin@dennistlin

The Padres are expected to finalize Canó's deal tomorrow, according to sources.

Dennis Lin @dennistlin

The Padres have been discussing a major-league deal with Robinson Canó, as @JonHeyman and others reported. Canó, 39, hit .195/.233/.268 this season before the Mets released him.

4:39 PM · May 12, 2022

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Now, Canó has been an above-average MLB hitter until this year. Maybe the Padres think that he’ll turn that around in San Diego? But then the question comes up of where and when he’s going to play.

But a possible rejuvenated bat seems to be the last reason why the Padres signed Canó at all, and I’m here for it.