No athlete can ever quite measure up to the millions upon millions of dollars they sign up for. I don’t blame the one guy who takes the money; any one of us would do the same thing. Though I believe I’d be happy with, say, $160 million, I’m not sure it’s fair to criticize someone based on the temptation of more if it’s offered. I do understand athletes who might feel as if they belong among a certain echelon of free agents. That certain dollar figure attached to that theoretical Mount Rushmore of free agent class, if you will; the distinction of being the “highest paid” in the game.

Robinson Cano was sitting pretty coming off his 2013 campaign with the New York Yankees. Cano had just hit .314 in 160 games, 27 HR, 107 RBI. He had established himself among the premier 2nd basemen in MLB. A perennial All-Star with MVP potential. Those were the days. Flash forward to 2015 and Cano entered play Saturday against his former Yankees teammates, just a paltry .249 hitter, 6 HR, 30 RBI. A far cry from his usual numbers we’ve come to expect.

On Saturday it was vintage Cano, blasting 2 home runs, driving in all 4 runs for the Seattle Mariners in their win over the Yankees. I have no doubt in my mind Cano would still be that same type of hitter for New York these days that he was during his 9 seasons in The Bronx prior to signing with Seattle in 2014. Saturday could have just been one of those days, but there’s no denying what the short porch in Yankee Stadium provides for his swing, coupled with that of what the protection in the Yankee lineup meant towards his offensive production. Alas, Cano opted for the Mariners’ $240 million over the Yankees’ $160 million offer.

Safeco Field, a pitcher’s park, appeared to be a detriment to Cano’s offensive numbers. The Mariners’ lineup doesn’t even come close to that of what the Yankees offer; the likes of Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, Brian McCann — I could go on. I won’t deny that $240 million is rather enticing. However, had he decided to stay in New York, he’d have been the face of the Yankees post-Derek Jeter, would be the anchor of the Yankees’ batting order, and perhaps, among the Yankee greats entering Monument Park one day.

In 2013, the Yankees missed the playoffs. The arguments surrounding Cano might have been, “We missed the playoffs with him, we could have done that without him,” or, “He’s going to be on the wrong side of 30 years old before his next contract expires, the Yankees need to get younger.” While I consider a 7-year contract about the absolute maximum a team should commit to a player around 30 years old, the earning potential the Yankees would stand to benefit from Cano on the field would surely outweigh the potential doldrums at the latter stages of his career. At least history seemed to suggest that; Cano’s durability has allowed him to play right around 160 games per season.

While Cano had his vintage Saturday, Stephen Drew rode the bench and Rob Refsnyder showcased as the next potentially great Yankee 2nd baseman. Drew has a horrendous .181 average, but to contrast Cano, decent power numbers with 11 HR and 24 RBI, all for around $5 million. With Cano back in The Bronx for the weekend and Refsnyder getting a taste of his first home games under the watchful eye of the Yankee faithful, it signifies the era of yesterday versus tomorrow. It also sheds light on the financial flexibility the Yankees maybe benefitted from by not retaining Cano. Though the team still committed over $400 million to Jacoby Ellsbury, Masahiro Tanaka, Carlos Beltran and McCann during the winter of 2013, it’s doubtful the Yankees would have been able to do so had they re-signed Cano.

It’s all a what-if. The fact of the matter is the Yankees are in 1st place, top 5 in HR and runs scored in all of MLB even without Cano. It might take several years for Yankee fans to fondly remember the ole 2B and his glory days with the club, but the opportunity of watching the youth of the team taking over, mixed with the success of the team as reflected in the standings, is as exciting as is interesting pondering the what-if of Cano’s Yankees lore.