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New York Mets pitcher Griffin Canning

For two months, Griffin Canning has played the part of the baseball underdog, a forgotten arm turned frontline contributor, pulled straight out of the bargain bin and into the heart of the New York Mets’ rotation. 

Now, as Memorial Day passes and the grind of the season begins to take hold, reality may be setting in. 

Signed in December to a modest one-year, $4.5 million deal, Canning has been one of the best value signings in baseball. He started the season with a crisp 2.47 ERA through his first nine starts, keeping hitters off balance with a reworked pitch mix and a sort of quiet confidence.  

Battered by early injuries to their rotation, the Mets leaned on Canning more than expected, and he delivered … for a while. But for every story in baseball history of a player who rose out of nowhere, there are countless others about regression to the mean, and Canning could be showing a few cracks. 

Griffin Canning Has Command, Velocity Issues in Recent Starts

Over his last two starts, Canning has pitched a combined 5.2 innings, allowing eight runs, six of them earned, on five hits and eight walks, four in each game. His command was off, his velocity was down, and the pitch sequencing that had baffled hitters earlier in the season wasn’t fooling anybody. 

“I think he was off, especially with his secondary pitches,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said after Canning’s most recent start , a 9-4 loss to the White Sox on Wednesday. “You know, the slider out of the zone (and) the change-up. 

“I just thought they took some really good at bats. They didn’t chase. But overall, I just thought that, especially with the secondaries, he was out of the strike zone.” 

What makes Canning’s stumble more complicated is what’s coming next. While the Mets patchwork rotation has made history so far this season, several of the projected starters for 2025 are close to returning from injury, which could lead to some uncomfortable conversations about innings. 

Return of Several Injured Players Could Push Griffin Canning Out of Rotation

According to recent reports , Frankie Montas is on a rehab assignment and expected back soon, Paul Blackburn is reportedly “close,” and even Sean Manaea, who’s battled shoulder fatigue, is progressing steadily. And while no one’s ready to push Canning out just yet, the writing is on the wall: he’s fighting for his spot now. 

Although to be fair, the Mets have already squeezed more value out of Canning than they ever anticipated when they signed him early in free agency as a depth play. That he was even available at all was a product of circumstance, as Atlanta dumped him in a post-trade salary purge , making him one of the offseason’s more overlooked castoffs. 

But Canning – who went 25-34 with a 4.78 ERA over 99 appearances, 94 of them starts, in five seasons with the Los Angeles Angels – isn’t ready to hand over his starting position just yet. And he knows what he has to do. 

“I’ve got to find ways to get guys out,” he said. 

Dave Benson Dave Benson is a longtime writer with over three decades of experience in a variety of mediums, including 15 years covering high school, collegiate and minor league sports in the St. Louis metropolitan area. Dave is also a licensed English teacher and spent a few years teaching at the middle school level. More about Dave Benson