Mets' Robinson Cano on contracts: 'Baseball is going to a different direction now'

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. _ On Dec. 12, 2013, Robinson Cano put pen to paper and signed a $240-million contract with the Seattle Mariners, a decade-long commitment to a much different city on the other coast, leaving the Yankees behind after his agent, Brodie Van Wagenen, landed him the third-largest free-agent contract in the history of baseball, topped only by Alex Rodriguez's pair of 10-year deals.

Halfway through that pact, Cano has made it back to New York, courtesy of Van Wagenen, who in his first major move as Mets general manager traded for the second baseman and closer Edwin Diaz.

And still, Cano's contract is a momentous mark. No free agent has received more money since (though Giancarlo Stanton and Miguel Cabrera signed more expensive extensions). That includes Bryce Harper and Manny Machado, superstar free agents whose continued unemployment is a surprise to many, Cano included.