Resurgent Cano making push for All-Star team

At this time a year ago, Robinson Cano was mired in a miserable slump that lasted through the first half, spurring questions about whether he was entering a steep decline phase.

These days, Cano is making those concerns seem silly. Following a strong second half, the 33-year-old has continued to be a force in the Mariners’ lineup, helping the team get off to an impressive start that has it in first place in the American League West.

While this is a big year for AL second basemen, with Houston’s Jose Altuve and Detroit’s Ian Kinsler among those also posting big numbers, Cano’s performance makes him one of the top candidates on the All-Star ballot. Benefiting from improved health and what appears to be a different at the plate, Cano is batting .295 with 14 home runs, an MLB-best 43 RBIs, a .929 OPS and a 155 weighted runs created-plus (wRC+), an all-encompassing, park-adjusted offensive metric. That sort of production could get him to the Midsummer Classic for the seventh time, this year in San Diego on July 12.

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When last year’s All-Star break arrived, Cano owned a .251/.290/.370 line with six home runs, generating an 83 wRC+ that was far below the league average of 100. It was a shocking fall for a consistent player who had produced a wRC+ between 124 and 149 in six consecutive seasons.

A monster second half made Cano’s final numbers respectable, but it still was his least productive season since 2008. There also were mitigating circumstances.

Perhaps most importantly, Cano spent the …

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