Mark Canha has work to do to play up to his contract for the NY Mets
After spending most of his career with the Oakland Athletics, Mark Canha signed a two year, $26 million deal with the Mets last offseason. He was a great fixture in the lineup for 2022, posting a .770 OPS and leading the league in hit by pitches.
Now in year two with the Mets, Canha has gotten off to a slower start than fans would've expected. He is hitting .192 through his first 15 starts, the second lowest on the team for qualified batters. He has 15 strikeouts thus far after recording just 97 all of last season.
Most of this can be attributed to his new approach at the plate. Going into the season, Canha made it known that he wanted to add some more power and hit more home runs. In that regard he has succeeded; after hitting 13 last season, he has already contributed two home runs for the Mets so far.
Canha's new approach to hitting might have come at the expensive of his batting average, and he will have to continue to adjust at the plate to play up to his $11.1 million contract this season. All Mets fans know that Canha is capable of turning it around, especially after his performance last season. Canha has a club option for 2024 which means the Mets can cut ties if he doesn't improve over the course of the season. That makes this a very important year for Canha, and his ability to get on base can make or break the Mets World Series hopes.