After A’s, Mark Canha Adjusting to Life With Mets

Earlier than a current recreation, Mets outfielder Mark Canha gleefully acknowledged the drink in his locker.

He didn’t elaborate on the tea in his paper cup, however it was clear that he appreciated its availability within the Mets’ clubhouse. The identical went for the meals.

“Each meal in right here is unbelievably good,” Canha mentioned. “High quality meals, each single meal. It’s simply been wonderful. I really feel blessed to be right here, actually. It’s been simple to play right here.”

Canha, 33, discovered himself discussing the variations between life with the Oakland Athletics, his first crew, and the Mets. He didn’t have many perks throughout the first seven years of his profession in Oakland, the place Moneyball techniques have regularly stored the A’s aggressive regardless of a minimal monetary funding within the crew.

Now, after signing a two-year, $26.5 million take care of the Mets within the low season, Canha performs for a crew on the alternative finish of baseball’s spending spectrum.

The Mets’ $264.4 million opening day payroll, financed by the proprietor Steven A. Cohen, trailed solely the Los Angeles Dodgers’ $280.8 million, per Cot’s Baseball Contracts. The A’s, after buying and selling a number of distinguished veterans, opened with a minuscule payroll of $47.7 million underneath the possession of John Fisher. Solely the Baltimore Orioles, at $43.6 million, had a smaller price range.

Cash doesn’t all the time equate to wins, however the Mets had the very best report within the Nationwide League East by way of Tuesday after pumping lots of of hundreds of thousands of {dollars} into the roster. Canha’s former squad was in final place within the American League West.

“It’s very tough to contend whenever you don’t spend the cash,” Canha mentioned. “What the A’s and the Rays have been in a position to do is admirable, however normally the groups that spend, particularly these days, are those which might be on the high.”

Canha, who was hitting .287 with a .758 on-base plus slugging share, three house runs and 13 R.B.I. forward of Wednesday’s scheduled recreation towards the St. Louis Cardinals, is one among three present Mets who performed for the A’s final season. Outfielder Starling Marte additionally signed as a free agent, whereas Chris Bassitt, an All-Star right-hander, turned one among a number of Athletics to be traded in Oakland’s newest penny-pinching pursuit. Pitcher Sean Manaea and the infielders Matt Olson and Matt Chapman had been additionally shipped out of city.

“I understood the route I believed they had been going to go,” Bassitt mentioned at the time of his trade. “So I wasn’t shocked.”

The A’s have moved on this route earlier than, however this explicit interval in franchise historical past has caused grievances that stretch past the departures of fan favorites. The A’s are final in common attendance at Oakland Coliseum, a product of not solely discarded expertise and a downtrodden stadium, but additionally elevated ticket and parking costs, public mistrust of the crew’s administration and lingering questions over what metropolis the crew will name house within the close to future.

For a Bay Space native like Canha, it hurts to see his former crew caught in a state of uncertainty. He beloved his time in Oakland, however he began to really feel the “cloud of thriller” that coated the membership towards the tip of his tenure.

“It’s simply form of unhappy, and it jades the entire expertise as a result of my time with the A’s was so particular, and I’ll all the time have that and I’ll all the time bear in mind it fondly,” mentioned Canha, who was born in San Jose. “I all the time surprise what the hell is occurring. What’s occurring behind the curtains with all these items? As a result of they are saying plenty of issues within the media. There’s a lot reporting on the stadium stuff and the place the crew’s going to be situated and all these items, however it’s a lot noise that you just don’t know what’s actually occurring.”

Canha added that the Athletics’ status is well-known all through baseball and that the crew’s aversion to spending and its restricted assets should not precisely engaging.

“It hurts them in that regard as a result of gamers hear tales and so they’re like, ‘OK, I’m not going to Oakland except I’ve to, except it’s my solely selection,’” Canha mentioned. “I don’t suppose it’s a fascinating vacation spot for lots of gamers for that cause.”

Funding will not be a difficulty in Queens, not for roster upgrades or for refreshments within the gamers’ lounge.

“No matter we would like, we’re getting. He needs to win,” Bassitt mentioned about Cohen when he joined the crew. “All of us need to win, so all of us have a typical objective from actually the very high to the underside.”

Whereas Canha didn’t know the crew was negotiating with Eduardo Escobar and Marte on the identical time the Mets had been understanding a take care of him, or that Max Scherzer would finally be introduced on board as effectively, he mentioned that after assembly with Billy Eppler, the final supervisor, and Sandy Alderson, the crew president, he understood what to anticipate.

“They conveyed that they had been planning to spend and be aggressive,” Canha mentioned.

For sure, the A’s by no means did enterprise that manner.

Now, watching from afar, Canha can not assist however really feel sorry for individuals who used to cheer him.

“I do know plenty of followers are actually disillusioned within the group,” he mentioned of the A’s. “It’s a scenario that’s form of disappointing from my perspective, as somebody who grew up within the Bay Space.”