Mets' Griffin Canning opens up on career revival in New York, struggles with Angels

New York Times

12 hours ago

LOS ANGELES — It was the very first day of the offseason — when players can finally exhale after a grueling eight months of non-stop baseball.
That, however, was not the case for Griffin Canning. The then-Angels pitcher of six years, and lifelong Orange County, Calif., resident, found his life and career upended by a trade to the Braves just hours after the World Series ended.
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'It was a little shocking,' Canning said on Thursday. 'But I didn't have a great year last year, so I wasn't super surprised to see it.'
To say he didn't have a great year in 2024 is an understatement. Canning allowed 99 runs, the most in the American League. His strikeout rate took a massive dip, from 9.9 per nine innings in 2023 to just 6.8 in 2024. It was a bad season.
But he's more than made up for it with the Mets. After the Braves traded for the 29-year-old righty, he was non-tendered. New York subsequently signed Canning to a one-year, $4.25 million deal, taking a chance on a once-promising arm.
He now has a 2.90 ERA over his first 12 starts and is one of the top starting pitchers in the National League, amid a full-scale turnaround of his career.
Speaking in front of his locker inside the Mets clubhouse at Dodger Stadium — the morning after he shut out the defending champions over six innings — he reflected on why things have worked better for him in New York than they ever did in Anaheim.
'You see it with a lot of guys, just a change of scenery,' said Canning. 'I was in Southern California my whole life. It's nice to get out and experience something new.'
It wasn't just the scenery that changed for Canning. It was the team culture, the strategic plan implemented by his new coaches, and the technology available to him.
Most importantly, he changed his pitch sequencing. Canning's best pitch is his slider, but he didn't throw it as much in his final season with the Angels. Its usage has gone from 24.1 percent in 2024 to 32.9 percent this year. With that has come a dip in his four-seam fastball usage, which has gone from a primary option to a more strategic one.
'It was difficult. We had four or five different managers and four or five different pitching coaches with the Angels,' Canning said. 'Sometimes a new guy comes in and maybe doesn't necessarily know you as well. Or just different organizational philosophies when people come in and out.'
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The results speak for themselves. His fastball is resulting in whiffs on 19.5 percent of swings, compared to 14.8 percent last year. The hard-hit percentage has decreased to 44.4 percent, compared to 51.4 percent in 2024. The batting average against and slugging percentage against have steeply declined. All while his slider effectiveness has increased across all the same metrics.
Canning said there's nothing different about his slider. Just a few mechanical tweaks to his delivery, and, more importantly, he's changed what pitches he throws in what counts.
'It starts with him buying into what we offered him, and also giving credit to our pitching department that is able to not only provide the information, but get to know the player,' said Mets manager Carlos Mendoza. 'We knew he had a good slider. … Last year, he threw his four-seamer a lot. I think it's more increasing this pitch, not so much of that one.'
Canning also said the Mets utilize technology differently. For example, he said he utilizes a KinaTrax machine, which allows him to see his skeletal movements and subsequently improve them. Canning said the reliance on technology with the Mets is more than he was used to with the Angels.
'We had it, but I never saw it,' Canning said of the KinaTrax. 'I think the Angels have all the similar things. I don't think it's a bad thing — sometimes they don't want guys to go down that rabbit hole, and worry about those kinds of things.'
On Wednesday night, Canning had his best start of the season. Six shutout innings, seven strikeouts, no walks, just three hits. On the season, his home runs per nine innings dropped to 0.9 from 1.6.
Hard contact against him has been fewer and farther between.
'Much different,' said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. 'Obviously, he's healthy. The stuff is playing up. The velocity is up. There's a cutter, the slider is good, there's a changeup. He's a much better pitcher, more weapons than he's had in the past.'
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The Angels have long struggled to develop starting pitching, particularly pitchers that they drafted. Their recent history is littered with examples of arms who haven't evolved in the way they hoped. Canning is arguably the most concrete example of this.
He was drafted in the second round in 2017. By 2019, he was the organization's top pitching prospect, behind only Jo Adell on the overall leaderboard. There was hope he'd be a legit ace-level pitcher.
Instead, it was a half-dozen years of injuries and ineffectiveness. Culminating in his worst season, and a career inflection point.
Now, Canning is that ace-level starter on the best team in the National League. He's a pending free agent, and if he continues to pitch well, he will command a haul on the open market.
New York is a different animal from Anaheim. It's a younger and more lively crowd, Canning said, with a great knowledge of the game. But it also invites a ton of pressure — a demand for success that isn't matched anywhere else. The good news for Canning is that he's satisfied and exceeded every expectation.
To save his career and be a critical piece of what the Mets hope is a historic season.
'They thought they could bring me in and see some success,' Canning said. 'I think it's a testament to the culture. A big aspect of it is being on more of a winning team. Not playing for yourself as much, but playing for the 25 other guys, has been helpful for me in particular.'
The Athletic's Fabian Ardaya contributed reporting to this story.
(Top Photo: Harry How / Getty Images)