One moment, Griffin Canning was cruising through another start. The next, the New York Mets’ dugout held its breath in stunned silence.
During the third inning against the Braves on Thursday, Canning landed awkwardly after a pitch and crumpled to the ground.
The right-hander immediately signaled for help, clearly in pain as trainers rushed out and teammates turned away grimacing.
After just 2.2 innings, his night — and possibly his season — came to a devastating end as he was helped off the mound.
Mets Fear the Worst After Non-Contact Injury
When Carlos Mendoza met with the media, his voice couldn’t hide the concern. The early suspicions were grim: Achilles injury.
Sounds like Canning is going to be out with an achilles injury
“We think it’s an Achilles. He’s getting an MRI, we’re waiting for the results, but it looks like it’s an Achilles injury.”
Carlos Mendoza on Griffin Canning 💔 pic.twitter.com/jXR2PoP0kO
— Fireside Mets (@firesidemets) June 27, 2025
“We think it’s an Achilles,” Mendoza said. “He’s getting an MRI. But yeah, that’s what it looks like right now.”
You didn’t need to be a doctor to see it. The way his left foot buckled, it told its own painful story.
Griffin Canning your contributions will be remembered https://t.co/D7E1c4XEcz
— Fitz (@FitzGSN_) June 27, 2025
Injuries like this often bring comparisons, and Canning’s fall echoed Tyrese Haliburton’s Achilles injury in the NBA Finals.
If the Achilles is torn, Canning will not only miss the rest of 2025 but could be sidelined well into next season.
A Career Revival Cut Short?
What makes this blow harder is what Griffin Canning was becoming in Queens — a legitimate rotation piece for the Mets.
Signed as a one-year flier in the offseason, he arrived with little fanfare and even less job security behind him.
But under the Mets’ development system, Canning found his rhythm again, trimming his ERA down to a solid 3.77.
That figure came across 76.1 innings of reliable work — a night-and-day improvement from last year’s 5.19 ERA with the Angels.
He wasn’t flashy, but he was steady — the kind of dependable innings-eater every contending team quietly values in October.
From Project Arm to Reliable Contributor
Canning’s turnaround didn’t happen overnight. It was the product of mechanical tweaks, smarter sequencing, and real belief.
The Mets gave him the space to rebuild, and Canning rewarded them by throwing the best ball of his major league career.
Opposing hitters were batting just .239 against him, and his command had sharpened.
Most importantly, he looked confident again — like a pitcher who belonged on a contender instead of scraping for innings.
Now, all that progress hangs in the balance, threatened by one cruel twist of the ankle and a worst-case diagnosis.
A Gut Punch to the Mets’ Rotation
New York’s rotation had finally started to find its footing, and Canning was a major part of that recent consistency.
He wasn’t just eating innings — he was protecting the bullpen, keeping games close, and giving the Mets a chance nightly.
This injury isn’t just a blow to Canning’s season. It shakes the foundation of what the Mets were starting to build.
With Kodai Senga and Tylor Megill already out, and others still working back from injuries, the timing couldn’t be worse.
Suddenly, depth becomes desperation, and the front office may need to act if Canning’s MRI confirms the Mets’ worst fear.
Waiting for Final Word, But the Outlook Is Bleak
As of now, all the Mets can do is wait and hope for an unexpected turn in the MRI results.
Stranger things have happened — and athletes have dodged bullet diagnoses before — but this one feels different.
The body language said it all. Canning knew right away something wasn’t right, and the staff didn’t argue with him.
Until New York officially announces the injury, nothing is confirmed. But the energy around the team says enough.
If it is an Achilles tear, Canning may be facing a recovery timeline that extends well into the 2026 campaign.
A Harsh Twist of Fate for a Comeback Story
Baseball can be cruel like that — just when it seems like a player has finally figured it out, the game hits back.
Griffin Canning was never the headline act, but he was the kind of story that resonates — a grinder rewriting his path.
To see that momentum disappear in an instant is a gut punch, both to him and to the Mets’ hopeful summer.
Canning’s next steps will depend on that MRI, but even a best-case scenario likely includes months away from the mound.
What was once shaping up to be a feel-good comeback season is now teetering on the edge of devastation.
READ MORE: Mets suffer yet another injury to their pitching staff — can they withstand the blow?
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