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Seattle Mariners

Vince Grippi: Robinson Cano on a Hall of Fame track, but how about an M’s postseason?

Mariners second baseman Robinson Cano is a bit more brittle now but still producing as a 34-year-old. (David J. Phillip / AP)

Robinson Cano is the Mariners’ leader.

Their second-highest paid player and either the face of the franchise or the next best thing.

He’s a probable Hall of Famer, one of the best-hitting second basemen of all time and, up until this year, a nearly everyday player.

But can he lead the Mariners to the promised land, the postseason?

He hasn’t yet. He won’t this season. And at age 34, there are questions whether he ever will.

It’s not all his fault, of course, even though when the Mariners signed him Dec. 12, 2013, that’s what was expected of him.

Why else would you give a 31-year-old second baseman a 10-year, $240 million contract?

At that point, the Mariners had gone 12 years without playing in the postseason.

Since he signed that astonishing mega-deal, leaving the fabled New York Yankees for out-of-the-way Seattle, three more years have been added on that baffling streak. One more year is 12 games away from being etched on the non-participation trophy.

Cano has done his part.

He’s hit .295 since joining the M’s, a bit of a drop from his .309 average in New York.

Over the nine years with the Yankees, he drove in an average of 91 runs a season. In Seattle, that number is 89, with a little more than a week to add on.

His power numbers have fallen off a bit, with an OPS of .860 in New York and .826 in Seattle. But that’s easy to understand considering the difference in ballparks. Yankee Stadium – new and old – is designed to complement left-hand hitters. Safeco Field, while gentler on lefties, is still a pitchers’ park.

Last year Cano was spectacular, with an .OPS of .882 and a WAR (wins above replacement) of 7.3, fourth-best of his career.

But 34-year-olds, which Cano is now, have a tendency to be a bit more brittle. He is no exception, having spent a stint on the disabled list in May with a strained right quadriceps and then playing through a hamstring issue in late August.

If Cano plays every game the rest of the year, and that seems a bit improbable considering the M’s should be eliminated from wild-card consideration soon, he will finish with 140 games played. That would be his fewest since his second year in the big leagues.

The next six years may become problematic, as Cano’s production probably will decline as he ages. Father Time is one heck of a tough guy to get a hit off.

But even if Cano doesn’t lead the M’s to the playoffs – that probably depends more on the pitching staff anyway – he should finish a Hall of Fame career in Seattle.

Why not? He already has 299 home runs, more than all but one HOF second baseman (Rogers Hornsby). He’ll have at least a hundred more than Hornsby when he retires.

Cano has 2,362 hits. If he averages 150 for the next six years, which seems a bit on the low side, he will end up with more than 3,100. That puts him near the best mark of HOF second basemen, Eddie Collins’ 3,315 and would make him only the fifth player from that position over the magic 3,000 mark.

If Cano can keep his slugging percentage anywhere near his current career mark of .495, he would be the best in that category as well.

He also should be near the top of the position’s rankings in average, RBI and runs.

With a statistical case like that, the only question will be what year he will be voted in. First ballot or no?

There is, lest we forget, one other question: What hat will be on his plaque? Will he be the 37,000th Yankee or the second (or third) Mariner?

If Cano finishes out his contract in Seattle, he’ll have played more years and games in the Northwest than in New York. And his offensive numbers should be comparable.

It will be his final baseball decision.

If the Mariners finish out his 10-year stint without a playoff appearance, he may very well consider his time in the Northwest as a failure. But if he can be part of a team that does what no other M’s team has, mainly make a World Series, then Seattle would probably hold a special place for him.

It’s just another reason to end the streak.

Maybe next year will be the year.