Our worst fears, right? The New York Mets are trying to catch lightning in a bottle again with the rotation. We were all okay with Frankie Montas. We raised an eyebrow when Clay Holmes came shortly after. Tack on Griffin Canning, their latest addition, and the Mets are defeating the purpose of having Juan Soto in his prime on your roster.
As much as we can credit David Stearns for assembling a crack team of starters last year and getting the most out of them, this one is a bit more perplexing. Canning isn’t a guy like Montas who had some injuries derail him. And in fairness to Montas, he improved with the Milwaukee Brewers down the stretch. Converting Holmes into a starting pitcher is strange, but understandable. You do you.
Canning? On a guaranteed deal? It already feels like the Mets are a handful of starts from DFA’ing him before some fans have even found out.
Griffin Canning doesn’t have the ceiling the Mets should have been looking for
This is a pitcher whose best ERA season came in the shortened 2020 campaign. His 171.1 innings last year was the most of his career. He led the league with 99 earned runs and saw his strikeout rate diminish. Despite throwing significantly more frames than the 127 he had in 2023, he struck out 9 fewer hitters: 130 vs. 139.
So what is it the Mets see in him? He was hit hard in each of the last two years. His line drive, groundball, and fly ball rates are about average. Throughout his career, Canning has been a letdown.
Traded immediately after the season ended to the Atlanta Braves for Jorge Soler in a contract dump for the latter, he was non-tendered a few weeks later. Rumors of the Mets circling him left most fans dissatisfied. How, especially after Montas and Holmes, could this be the finishing touch on the rotation?
Before Canning, the possibility of two starting pitchers added to the roster was what more ambitious fans had been hoping for. Pinch yourself and Holmes is a reliever. Instead, it’s feeling more and more like the Mets are going to move forward with what they already have.