Minor leagues After graduating from high school, Canó was signed by the Yankees on January 5, 2001, as an amateur free agent, receiving a
signing bonus of over $100,000. He began playing in their
minor league system that season, debuting with the
Gulf Coast Yankees of the Rookie-level
Gulf Coast League and the
Staten Island Yankees of the Low–A
New York–Penn League. Canó played for Staten Island and the
Greensboro Bats of the Single–A
South Atlantic League in 2002. Canó played for the
Tampa Yankees of the High–A
Florida State League and
Trenton Thunder of the Double–A
Eastern League in 2003, by which point he was viewed as a top prospect. Canó appeared in the 2003
All-Star Futures Game. Canó began the 2004 season with Trenton, receiving a promotion to the
Columbus Clippers of the
Triple–A International League. When the
Kansas City Royals began to seek trade offers for
Carlos Beltrán, the Yankees moved Canó to
third base in an effort to showcase Canó for the Royals. On May 5, Canó got his first career base hit off of
Hideo Nomo of the
Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Canó belted his first career grand slam this season as well. He finished second in American League
Rookie of the Year balloting to
Huston Street of the
Oakland Athletics. During 2005, manager
Joe Torre compared Canó to
Hall of Famer Rod Carew. Torre clarified that he meant that Canó "reminded" him of Carew, in terms of his build, presence at the plate, and smoothness in his swing.
2006: First All-Star season In 2006, Canó led the
American League (AL) All-Star balloting at second base, but could not play after being placed on the
disabled list for a strained
hamstring. After his return from injury, however, on August 8, 2006, Canó led the league in
batting average,
doubles, and
runs batted in. During late September 2006, Canó accumulated enough at-bats to once again qualify for the AL batting race. Canó was rewarded the AL
Player of the Month award for September. Canó received three votes for AL MVP.
2007–2008 In 2007, Canó gave up his number 22 to
Roger Clemens, choosing to wear the number 24, a reversal of
Jackie Robinson's number 42, in tribute to him. After a slow start to the 2007 season which saw him hit a meager .249 through May 29, Canó found his stroke batting .385 in the month of July with six home runs and 24 RBI to raise his season average to .300 by the end of the month. He finished 2007 sixth in the league in games played (160), ninth in triples (7), and tenth in hits (189), doubles (41), and at bats (617). He was the only batter in the top 10 in doubles in the AL in both 2006 and 2007. On January 24, 2008, Canó signed a contract extension for $28 million over the next four years in the 2008 through 2011 seasons. The deal also included options for the Yankees for the 2012 and 2013 seasons, worth $27 million. Canó struggled early in the 2008 season, hitting only .151 by the end of in April, with just 7 RBIs. He improved later in the year, hitting .300 from May through August. Canó recorded the final walk-off hit in
Yankee Stadium history by singling in the winning run in the bottom of the 9th inning in the Yankees 1–0 victory over the Orioles on September 20, 2008. In the final game at Yankee Stadium the next night (September 21, 2008), Canó recorded the final RBI in Stadium history with his sacrifice fly in the 7th inning, scoring
Brett Gardner with the Stadium's final run. Canó missed only five games over the 2007 and 2008 seasons, and was one of only three Yankees to hit a home run as a pinch hitter.
2009: World Series Championship In 2009, Canó hit .320 with 204 hits, 25 home runs and 85 RBI. Canó ranked in the top ten among players in the American league in hits, extra base hits, total bases, at bats, doubles, batting average, runs scored, and triples. It was his first year hitting over 20 home runs. His 200th hit against the Boston Red Sox to clinch the AL East Division made him and Derek Jeter the first middle infield duo in MLB history to both have 200 hits in the same season. His 204 hits ranked third for hits during the 2009 season, and first among all second basemen. Canó also led second basemen in batting average. On November 4, Canó threw out
Shane Victorino for the final out of the
2009 World Series.
2010: Second All-Star and first Gold Glove season With the departure of
Hideki Matsui, Canó was moved into the fifth spot in the batting order. For his early season performance, Canó was named the AL Player of the Month for April 2010. He was elected as the starting second baseman in the
2010 MLB All-Star Game and was selected to participate in the
2010 Home Run Derby; however, he withdrew due to a minor injury. He finished the season with a milestone 200 hits and 100+ RBIs (109). Canó hit .343 with four home runs and 6 RBIs in the 2010 postseason. He finished the season with a .996
fielding percentage, the best for a second baseman in MLB, committing only three errors in 158 games. He turned 114 double plays and recorded 341 putouts. Canó won the American League
Gold Glove Award for second basemen in 2010, the first by a Yankee second baseman since
Bobby Richardson's five-year run from 1961 to 1965. Canó also won the American League
Silver Slugger Award for second basemen with a batting average of .319, 29 home runs and 109 runs batted in. In addition, he finished third in the voting for AL MVP.
2011: Third All-Star Canó had a rough first half to his defensive season. By June 18, he had committed six errors, twice as many as he had the previous season, when he won a Gold Glove. Canó was selected for the
2011 MLB All-Star Game as a starting second baseman, and was chosen to participate in the
2011 Home Run Derby. With his father pitching, Canó won the derby, setting a record for home runs in the final round with 12 home runs despite having an additional four outs remaining. Facing the
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on August 10, Canó fell a
single short of
hitting for the cycle. It marked the second time in his career that he missed the cycle by a single (the first being in 2005). Canó finished the 2011 season with 188 hits, 28 home runs, and a career-high 118 RBIs in 159 games. The Yankees would eventually lose the series in five games to the
Detroit Tigers.
2012: Fourth All-Star season While Canó hit only one home run in April, he recovered to hit seven homers in May, and a career-high 11 home runs in June. He returned to compete in the
2012 Home Run Derby but was not able to repeat the previous year's victory. Instead, he hit zero home runs and finished in last place, and was booed by the Kansas City fans for not having chosen the Royals'
Billy Butler to participate in the competition after previously stating that he would choose a Royal. He became the ninth player to fail to hit a home run in the Derby, and first since
Brandon Inge in
2009. On July 20, 2012, Canó extended his career-high hitting streak to 23 games with a single off of
Oakland Athletics pitcher
Tommy Milone in a 3–2 Yankees loss. And, in the last 10 games of the season, he went on a ferocious tear, going 24-for-39 for an .615 average with three home runs, seven doubles and 14 RBI. Canó finished the 2012 season with a .313 batting average, 48 doubles, 33 home runs, and 94 RBI. On October 29, the Yankees exercised Canó's club option for 2013 for $15 million, keeping him away from free agency for another year.
2013: Fifth All-Star season On April 13, 2013, Canó made his first career appearance at shortstop. He began the first half of the 2013 season with a .302 batting average, 21 home runs, and 65 RBI. He was named the AL captain for the
2013 Home Run Derby. During his only plate appearance of the
2013 All-Star Game, he was hit by a pitch thrown by
Matt Harvey and suffered a right quad contusion. Cano left the game and was replaced by
Dustin Pedroia. He only played for two pitches. On August 20, Canó hit his 200th career home run, a three-run blast to center field off of
Toronto Blue Jays pitcher
Esmil Rogers at Yankee Stadium. During the 2013 season, Canó batted .314 with 190 hits, 27 home runs, and 107 RBI in 160 games played. Canó was offered a seven-year, $175 million contract to return to the Yankees, but turned it down in search of a longer deal.
2014: Sixth All-Star season Canó made his debut for the Mariners on March 31, going 2-for-4 with a double. Canó recorded his first RBI for the Mariners on April 2. On July 6, Canó was named the AL starting second baseman for the
2014 MLB All-Star Game. This marked Canó's sixth career All Star selection, and his fifth consecutive. Canó finished the season with a .314 batting average with 14 home runs and 82 RBI. During August, he began to suffer from gastrointestinal symptoms that were later diagnosed as resulting from an
intestinal parasite. After the season, Canó traveled to Japan to join a team of MLB All-Stars playing against All-Stars of
Nippon Professional Baseball in the
2014 Major League Baseball Japan All-Star Series. He fractured a toe during the series, requiring 3–4 weeks to heal.
2015 Canó suffered through
acid reflux during the 2015 season, which resulted from the treatment of the parasite. He was not named to the
2015 All-Star Game roster, ending a streak of five consecutive years as an All-Star. He hit .287 with 21 home runs, 34 doubles, and 79 RBIs in 156 games during the 2015 season, but improved in the second half of the season, batting .330. He tied for 2nd in the AL in double plays grounded into, with 26. After the 2015 season, Cano had surgery to repair a
sports hernia.
2016: Seventh All-Star season On May 7,
2016, Canó hit his 250th career home run, joining
Joe Gordon and
Jeff Kent as the only second basemen to reach 250 career home runs within the first 12 years of their career. He was selected to his seventh
All-Star Game, played at
Petco Park in
San Diego. On August 28, Canó reached 30 home runs for the second time in his career, hitting it against the
Chicago White Sox. In 161 games, Canó finished the season with a .298 batting average, 195 hits, 33 doubles, 39 home runs, and 103 RBI. In the
All-Star Game at
Marlins Park, Canó hit a home run in the top of the tenth inning off of
Wade Davis that would give the American League a 2–1 win, earning him
All-Star Game MVP honors. On September 13, Canó was ejected for the first time in his career for arguing with
Vic Carapazza over a strike call. Canó hit his 300th career home run on September 21 versus
Keone Kela of the
Texas Rangers, becoming just the third second baseman in history to reach the milestone, following
Jeff Kent (377) and
Rogers Hornsby (301). The home run also made him the 16th major leaguer to bat at least .300 with 2,000 hits, 1,000 runs scored, 1,000 runs driven in, and 500 doubles.
2018: Suspension-shortened season Canó homered versus
Lance McCullers Jr. in a 4–1 loss to the
Houston Astros on April 18,
2018, to give him 302 for his career, and pass Hornsby for second place all-time among second basemen. On April 29, Canó hit his 100th home run as a member of the Mariners, versus
Josh Tomlin in a 10–4 victory over the
Cleveland Indians. On May 13, against the Tigers, Canó was hit by a pitch on the right hand, and left the game. His right hand was diagnosed with a fracture in the
fifth metacarpal bone. Two days into his injury, on May 15, Canó was suspended 80 games for testing positive for
Furosemide, a
diuretic better known as Lasix, which was a violation of MLB's performance-enhancing drugs policy. Canó returned to the Mariners on August 14, having served his suspension. For the season, he batted .303/.374/.471. In his first at bat as a Met, Canó hit a home run off of
Max Scherzer of the
Washington Nationals. However, after a first half of the season which included two stints on the injured list, a career-high strikeout rate, and an 'F' grade from Mike Puma of the
New York Post, the Mets' trade for Canó was described as "a massive misstep" by Connor Byrne writing for MLB Trade Rumors, and as "an unmitigated disaster" by Mike Mazzeo of
Yahoo Sports. On July 23, Canó had his first career three-home-run game and drove in all five of Mets runs against the
San Diego Padres. Canó's second half saw a major improvement – he posted a second half
OPS of .880, up from .646 OPS in the first half. In 2019, Canó batted .256/.307/.428 with 13 home runs and a career-low 39 RBIs. After the 2020 season, he played for Dominican Republic in the
2021 Caribbean Series. On November 18, 2020, Canó was suspended for 162 games after testing positive for
stanozolol in violation of MLB's performance-enhancing drugs policy, rendering him ineligible for the entire
2021 season. This was his second time testing positive for a PED. Canó returned to the Mets in 2022. On May 2, the Mets
designated Canó for assignment after he hit .195 with one home run in 41 at bats. He had only received sporadic playing time, often coming off the bench. On May 8, the Mets released Canó, making him a free agent.
San Diego Padres (2022) On May 13, 2022, Canó signed a major league contract with the
San Diego Padres. Canó batted .094 in 12 games for the Padres, with 10 strikeouts in 34
plate appearances, and was released by the Padres on June 2. On June 10, Canó re-signed with the Padres on a minor league contract and was assigned to the
El Paso Chihuahuas of the Triple-A
Pacific Coast League.
Atlanta Braves (2022) On July 10, 2022, the Padres traded Canó to the
Atlanta Braves for cash considerations. He made his Braves debut against the
New York Mets the next day. The Braves designated Canó for assignment on August 1, after acquiring
Ehire Adrianza. Canó batted 4-for-26 (.154) in nine games for the Braves. He was released on August 4, becoming a free agent. In aggregate, in 33 games and 100 at bats for three teams in 2022, he batted .150/.183/.190 with 4 walks and 25 strikeouts and was the slowest second baseman in the major leagues, with a sprint speed of 24.3 feet per second.
Dubai Wolves (2023) In September 2023, Canó joined the ownership group of
Baseball United, a professional baseball league based in
Dubai. On October 23, 2023, he was selected sixth overall in the league's
draft by the
Dubai Wolves. During the league's inaugural all-star showcase, Cano batted leadoff for the United West All-Stars in both games and went a combined 2 for 7 with 2 doubles and a walk.
Diablos Rojos del México (2024–present) On March 1, 2024, Canó signed with the
Diablos Rojos del México of the
Mexican League. In 78 games for the club, he batted .431/.475/.639 with 14 home runs and 77 RBI, won the league's batting title, and led the league in hits. With the team, Canó won the
Serie del Rey. On January 15, 2025, Cano re-signed with the Diablos. Canó lead the Diablos Rojos to an undefeated championship at the
2025 Baseball Champions League Americas in April 2025 and was named the tournament MVP. In 85 appearances for México, he hit .372/.426/.573 with 14 home runs and 86 RBI. With the team, Canó won his second consecutive Serie del Rey. He earned his 4,000th professional hit on September 15, during the third game of the Serie del Rey. ==International career==