This weekend has been all about Juan Soto. His return to face the New York Yankees for the first time while representing the New York Mets was all Big Apple baseball fans could think about. No story was bigger, especially with Clay Holmes making his start on Wednesday and being unavailable to show his ex-team what he has become.
Before Saturday’s game, Aaron Boone talked about Mets starter Griffin Canning. He revealed something pretty significant. The Yankees had interest in him, too.
Aaron Boone shares the Yankees had interest in signing Griffin Canning this past winter:
— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) May 17, 2025
"I'm not overly surprised by the success he's having" pic.twitter.com/5UKpbvDqdZ
The Mets signing of Griffin Canning just keeps getting better
Until this disclosure, our mockery was directed at the Atlanta Braves for trading for Canning and non-tendering him weeks later back in November. Braves fans likely weren’t too upset to see him handed his walking papers. Canning never did much with the Los Angeles Angels to suggest he was on the verge of becoming an early Cy Young candidate in 2025.
Pilfering Canning from the Braves is noteworthy. For it to happen with the Yankees as well, a team that ended up with Carlos Carrasco in their Opening Day rotation, makes this rose smell even sweeter.
Tagged for two solo home runs on Saturday against the Yankees, Canning received a no-decision and a slightly higher ERA of 2.47. He hasn’t been invincible. Canning has been more consistently steady than terrifying to opponents. Unable to give the Mets significant length, what has made him successful is never letting an inning get too out-of-hand.
Canning’s 4 earned runs all came on solo home runs; the pair on Saturday against the Yankees, one against the Chicago Cubs, and another versus the Arizona Diamondbacks. Maxed out at 6 innings, he has been short of brilliant yet exactly what this Mets team needed. Getting those first 18 outs has allowed Carlos Mendoza to comfortably hand the game off to the bullpen. The team is now 8-1 in his starts with his first, a 2-1 loss to the Houston Astros, being the lone misstep.
After Saturday's game, Canning expanded on his Yankees experience in the offseason. The first date didn't lead to a second.
Griffin Canning was asked about having talks with the Yankees over the offseason:
— SNY (@SNYtv) May 17, 2025
"Just like with the Mets, I had a Zoom call with them over the offseason. Just that one call, didn't hear from them much after that" pic.twitter.com/yBls3yAfmo
It will always be Soto vs. the Yankees fans. Real ones know, the failure to sign Canning matters, too.