Griffin

Canning

The 28-year-old hurler passed his physical on Thursday and the Mets officially announced the deal, which had been agreed to on Wednesday. While he has shown glimpses of greatness in the past, Canning struggled to a pedestrian 5.19 ERA, 1.40 WHIP and a 130/66 K/BB ratio over 171 2/3 innings for the Angels during the 2024 campaign. Perhaps a change of scenery and being able to pitch for a contender for the first time are what Canning needs to get his career back on track.

Canning becomes the latest low-risk reclamation project for New York’s pitching apparatus to tinker with heading into next season. The 28-year-old righty was non-tendered last month by the Braves after coming over a few weeks prior in the Jorge Soler trade. He’s shown flashes of fantasy potential in the past, but his velocity was down across the board last season as he struggled to a bloated 5.19 ERA, 1.40 WHIP and 130/66 K/BB ratio across 171 2/3 innings (32 appearances, 31 starts) for the Angels. He can be safely ignored for fantasy purposes at the moment, but it’ll be interesting to see how he looks in Grapefruit League starts.

The 28-year-old hurler was just acquired from the Angels for Jorge Soler at the end of October, but he gets jettisoned from the roster before he even has a chance to throw a pitch in a Braves’ uniform. Canning had been projected by MLBTradeRumors.com to earn $5.1 million via arbitration, so that certainly played into their decision making. There’s always a possibility that they could attempt to bring him back at a lower rate, though Canning is likely seeing more of a sure thing in terms of landing a spot in a starting rotation.

One year after resurrecting the careers of Chris Sale and Reynaldo Lopez, the Braves are taking on another project by acquiring the 28-year-old Canning from the Angels. Canning is coming off a season in which he posted a 5.19 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, and a poor 17.6 percent strikeout rate in 171 2/3 innings (31 starts). He has always had a slider that graded out well in pitching models but has failed to build an arsenal around it that can lead to fantasy success. We won’t assume the Braves will be able to help him do that, but they seem as good a team as any to give it a shot. Canning will head into spring training battling for one of the final spots in the rotation.

The season hasn’t even been over a full 24 hours and we have our first trade. Soler is coming off a down season that saw him hit .241/.338/.442 in 142 games with 21 home runs, 84 runs scored, and 64 RBI. He figures to serve as the primary designated hitter for the Angels and will add some much-needed thump to the middle of their order. With full-time playing time, he should remain on the fantasy radar for managers who are in need of some late-round power, but the counting stats will suffer. The Angels will pay all of Soler’s $13 million salary for each of the next two seasons. This does mean that Mike Trout spending more time at DH next year seems less likely.

Canning left with a five-run lead, which normally gets one a win. The Angels, though, managed to blow it. The good news for Canning in 2024 was that he qualified for the ERA title for the first time, throwing 171 2/3 innings. The bad is that he topped the AL by giving up 105 runs and 99 earned runs in the process. He ends the year 6-13 with a 5.19 ERA. Another organization might be able to get more out of him, but we wouldn’t expect the Angels to trade him this winter.

Canning looked solid until the third time through the Astros’ lineup when Alex Bregman and José Altuve took him. He was pulled after Bregman’s blast and would’ve been saddled with the loss if not for the Angels’ furious late rally. His season will mercifully come to an end after his next start against the Rangers.

The White Sox were shut out for the 19th time this season. Only the 2019 Marlins (22), the 2022 Tigers (22) and the 2008 Nationals (21) have been shut out more often since 2000. It’s the first time since May 23, 2023 that Canning has been part of a shutout. He’s likely to make his next start Sunday against the Astros.

After a scoreless first inning, Canning surrendered four runs in the second, including a three-run homer by Kyle Farmer. Matt Wallner then took him deep for a solo homer in the third. Another home run in the fifth made it eight runs for the Twins. Canning was left out to pitch the sixth, giving up a tenth run before he was removed with two outs. The 28-year-old right-hander will take a 5.35 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, and a 117/59 K/BB ratio across 156 1/3 innings into a start against the White Sox in Anaheim on Monday.

Canning had one of his better starts of the season against a tough Dodgers lineup. He held them scoreless through six innings before a walk and two base hits brought the one run in to score. Canning struck out seven on his way to the victory. The 28-year-old right-hander will take a 5.02 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, and a 113/56 K/BB ratio across 150 2/3 innings into a start against the Twins in Minnesota on Monday.