The Mets are signing right-handed pitcher Griffin Canning to a one-year deal, according to multiple reports.
The deal with Canning will be worth $4.25 million, as first reported by The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal.
Canning, 28, pitching in his fifth big league season last year allowed an American League-leading 99 earned runs in 171.2 innings pitched for a 5.19 ERA (5.26 FIP) with 66 walks for a 1.398 WHIP in 32 games (31 starts).
Of course, he still managed to strike out 130 batters on the year. But for Canning that was a down year in that department, as 6.8 strikeouts per nine innings represented a career low. After an injury kept him out for the entirety of the 2022 season, he pitched to a 4.32 ERA and 1.236 WHIP the following year in 24 games (22 starts) and racked up 139 strikeouts over 127 innings for a 9.9 Ks per nine rate in 2023.
The move bolsters the Mets’ depth at the back end of the rotation with Jose Butto, Paul Blackburn and Tylor Megill all candidates to be starters or head to the bullpen.
At the MLB Winter Meetings in early December, president of baseball operations David Stearns said the club will have the above trio all stretch out this offseason before potentially landing in bullpen roles.
“For guys like Jose, the easiest thing for them in the offseason is to prepare… as though they’re going to be stretched out,” Stearns said at the time. “Once you’re stretched out we can always shorten you up. And so, Jose is gonna stretch out… We’ll probably stretch him out a little bit once he’s into camp and then we’ll see how our roster shapes out.”
Three pitches make up the majority of Canning’s offerings with a four-seam fastball (averaging 93.4 mph) making up 37.6 percent of his pitches, followed by a changeup (88.6 mph) at 26.7 percent and a slider (87.7 mph) at 24 percent. He used his fourth pitch, a curveball, a bit less in 2024 than the year prior at 10.3 percent.
Canning’s most effective pitch over the past two seasons has been his changeup, with a 28.8 percent whiff rate and a .318 weighted on-base average in 2024.
He pitched for the Los Angeles Angels his entire career before he was dealt to the Atlanta Braves after the season for Jorge Soler. The Braves non-tendered him and allowed him to hit free agency.
Overall, Canning has pitched to a 4.78 ERA and 1.333 WHIP over 508 innings in 94 starts (with another five appearances out of the bullpen) in his career. He has struck out 483 batters to 183 walks (2.64 ratio).
He won the AL Gold Glove in 2020, his second season in the majors.
