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Should the Yankees Trade Robinson Cano? Probably not. I only say probably, because there are certainly trade offers that would be in the Yankees' favor (Cano for Ian Kinsler and Josh Hamilton as an unrealistic example). But given what teams would likely offer in return, Cano's favorable contract, and his expected performance going forward, the Yankees' best move is to keep him in the Bronx.

The 2008 season was obviously a down one offensively for Cano. In April and May, he hit .219/.269/.328 over 217 plate appearances. He did pick things up the rest of the way (.291/.319/.448 through Saturday's games), but a season line of .264/.299/.402 does not belong on a $200 million Yankee roster.

The decision to trade Cano shouldn't be based on his 2008 production, but instead his expected performance going forward. After all, Cano was pretty good in 2006 and 2007 (.322/.358/.504 combined), and the word from those in the organization was that he still had room to grow. Should one season kill that hope? Of course not. In fact, a simple weighted projection based on the past three seasons (which has been shown to be nearly as accurate as the best projection systems out there) puts Cano at .299/.341/.466 in 2009. Any Yankees fan would love to have that production at second base. And there's still the chance Cano lives up to his full potential.

Cano's contract is guaranteed for three more seasons at an average cost of $8M, and the Yankees have club options for 2012 and 2013 for $14M and $15M, with a $2M buyout each year. Assuming Cano lives up to his projection, he'd be worth about one win above average, good for about $13M. Until the Yankees have to decide on his option years, he's a huge bargain (as talented young players under team control usually are.)

The reason I doubt other teams will offer fair value in return for Cano is that they will overreact to his poor 2008 season. Trading players while their perceived value is lower than their actual value is never a smart move.

And who would replace Cano at second base? There aren't any teams looking to trade a second baseman who's better than Cano — that list is short, probably including Chase Utley, Dustin Pedroia, Kinsler, Brian Roberts, Placido Polanco and maybe Dan Uggla. And the free agent market isn't stocked, either. Orlando Hudson's glove isn't as good as it used to be and he'll be coming off of wrist surgery. Mark Ellis would be a good gamble (his bat is league-average, 2008 performance aside, and he's a modern-day Ozzie Smith at second base), but I doubt he leaves the A's or that the Yankees show interest.

There's still plenty of reason to believe Cano will be a very good player going forward. With his favorable contract, the Yankees save money to spend on other positions. Why would you want to trade a player like that, especially considering his perceived value is at an all-time low? Cano's an asset to the Yankees and is an important piece to build around for the next World Series run. Overreacting to a poor two months creates a problem when there really isn't one.