NY Mets Monday Morning GM: 5 unpopular David Stearns decisions that turned out well

3) Signing Griffin Canning

I hated this signing. It was nonsensical. The Mets were coming off a year where they took those chances on Manaea and Severino. They were hasbeens. Griffin Canning felt like a neverwas.

Silly me. Canning turned out to be a strong back-of-the-rotation arm. If not for an injury midseason, he might have turned out to be one of their most effective starting pitchers. It might have been difficult fitting everyone into the rotation. He carried the early load while Manaea and the very unpopular Frankie Montas were in the repair shop.

A 7-3 record and 3.77 ERA through 16 starts, Canning was a ground ball machine with a 50.2% rate. He fit the model of pitcher Stearns grabbed regularly for the 2025 team. Keep the ball on the ground and you’re going to limit damage. It wasn’t such a bad plan after all.

If there was any room for Canning on the 2026 Mets, I’d be all for it. Unfortunately for him, he’s going to need a new organization to give him a vote of confidence. It was already a crowded room in 2025 in Queens, but this season seems to be even more clustered with the Mets needing to add someone far more proven. They need an impact ace, not a mid-rotation project they can reinvest in.

The Canning signing didn’t draw the same level of ire as some of Stearns’ other more unpopular moves. It deserves a nod because of how little excitement or care there was at all for this addition.