The Cardinals and Mets both have some interest in free agent righty Griffin Canning, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Canning spent the 2025 season with the Mets after signing a one-year, make-good deal in free agency last year. He started the season well before running into a brief rough patch and then suffering a torn Achilles tendon before he really had a chance to bounce back. The White Sox are also known to have interest.
A former second-round pick and highly regarded prospect with the Angels, Canning has shown glimpses of the upside he had during his minor league days but hasn’t found much consistency in the majors. Part of that is due to persistent injuries, as he’s missed time in his career due to not just last year’s Achilles tear but also elbow, groin and calf injuries over the years. The Angels traded him to the Braves for Jorge Soler just hours into the 2024-25 offseason in what amounted to a salary dump for Atlanta; Canning was non-tendered just a couple weeks later.
After signing a one-year deal with the Mets, Canning looked like a quality bargain to begin the season. Spring injuries to Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas opened a rotation spot, and Canning ran with that opportunity. Through his first nine starts, he posted a terrific 2.47 ERA with slightly better-than-average strikeout and walk rates (23.2% and 8.6%, respectively) and an excellent 55.2% ground-ball rate. He had some good fortune in terms of balls in play, home runs and strand rate, but even more bearish metrics like SIERA (3.84) and FIP (3.92) still graded him as a solid mid-rotation arm.
Canning hit some trouble in mid-May, walking 18 hitters over his next 26 1/3 innings. He didn’t get a real chance to bounce back from that rough patch. During the third inning of a road start against the Braves, he suffered a torn Achilles tendon during his follow-through on what otherwise looked like a perfectly innocuous pitch. Canning had to be helped off the field and underwent season-ending surgery. His 2025 campaign ended with a 3.77 ERA, 21.3% strikeout rate, 10.7% walk rate and 50.9% ground-ball rate. The bump in grounders was particularly notable, given that he’d been a fly-ball pitcher with the Halos. The Mets made some changes to his pitch selection and also altered the shape/release points of his slider and changeup.
Another one-year deal for Canning seems likely after the way his 2025 season ended. He ought to command more than the $4.25MM guarantee he received last winter — at least as long as he’s healthy. Heyman writes that Canning is expected to be ready “around” Opening Day, so it’s not yet clear whether he’ll need an IL stint to begin the season (and may not become fully clear until afer he’s signed and spring training is underway).
The Mets and Cardinals both make varying levels of sense. New York obviously liked Canning last winter and had to be encouraged by how he performed with input from their staff. They’re looking for depth and have been open to trade offers on both Kodai Senga and David Peterson.
The Cardinals are an even more sensible fit. They’re in the early stages of a rebuild over in St. Louis, and Canning could provide a veteran arm and some upside who could play his way into trade chip status this summer. After trading Sonny Gray and seeing Miles Mikolas become a free agent, the Cardinals’ rotation currently mix includes Matthew Liberatore, Michael McGreevy, Andre Pallante, Kyle Leahy, free agent pickup Dustin May and trade acquisitions Richard Fitts and Hunter Dobbins. Prospects Quinn Mathews, Tink Hence and Brycen Mautz could debut at some point in 2026 as well. That’s a lot of arms but far less certainty, making the addition of Canning or another veteran a sensible pursuit.