{"id":35375,"date":"2025-05-18T03:37:16","date_gmt":"2025-05-18T03:37:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/35375\/"},"modified":"2025-05-18T03:37:16","modified_gmt":"2025-05-18T03:37:16","slug":"mets-stole-electric-free-agent-starter-despite-yankees-interest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/35375\/","title":{"rendered":"Mets stole electric free agent starter despite Yankees\u2019 interest"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some pitchers break your heart. They come in with hype, electric stuff, and a gleam of potential\u2014and then it fizzles. That was Griffin Canning.<\/p>\n

Watching his 2024 season unfold was like watching a concert pianist forget the keys. He had the tools, but the music just wouldn\u2019t come.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

Canning led the American League in earned runs last year with 99. His 5.19 ERA painted him as damaged goods. But in the shadows of free agency disappointment, one team saw something everyone else missed.<\/p>\n

The New York Mets<\/a> didn\u2019t just see a reclamation project; they saw a blueprint.<\/p>\n

With $4.25 million and a vision, the Mets made a bet. And it\u2019s paying off.<\/p>\n

\"MLB:<\/p>\n

Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

The Mets\u2019 secret sauce: turning coal into diamonds on the mound<\/p>\n

The Mets have quietly become baseball\u2019s version of a pitching rehabilitation clinic. If your ERA is in ruins but your arm still hums with life, Queens might be your last hope.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not magic, but it does feel like it. Jeremy Hefner and Desi Druschel, along with a development staff that thrives on nuance, have cracked the code.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

Their success stories stack up like trophies on a shelf. They don\u2019t just fix pitchers; they redefine them.<\/p>\n

Canning, once drifting aimlessly on the Angels\u2019 poorly steered ship, found direction in a Mets uniform. And it started with strategy.<\/p>\n

Learning how to pitch, not just throw, made all the difference<\/p>\n

Canning didn\u2019t come to New York and suddenly throw 100 mph. His breaking balls didn\u2019t magically become nastier. What changed was how he used them.<\/p>\n

The Mets\u2019 brain trust encouraged him to frontload at-bats with sliders and curveballs\u2014his most effective pitches\u2014and hold back the fastball as a surprise, not a staple.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

It\u2019s like a chef realizing the secret isn\u2019t the ingredients but the order in which they\u2019re used. Canning began getting ahead in counts, forcing hitters to chase his heater instead of teeing off on it.<\/p>\n

With this revamped approach, he carved up lineups and stacked zeroes.<\/p>\n

Entering Saturday\u2019s matchup with the Yankees, he had logged 42 innings with a sparkling 2.36 ERA. Just months ago, that would\u2019ve sounded like fiction.<\/p>\n

\"MLB:<\/p>\n

Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

The Yankees wanted him too, but the Mets made the stronger case<\/p>\n

Before his resurgence, Canning drew interest from several teams, including the Yankees<\/a>. In a moment of honesty, Yanks manager Aaron Boone admitted he wasn\u2019t surprised by Canning\u2019s success.<\/p>\n

That little shrug of \u201cwe were interested\u201d says a lot\u2014New York saw the potential but couldn\u2019t wrap up a deal.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

The Mets did, and Canning took off.<\/p>\n

Sometimes it\u2019s not just about money\u2014it\u2019s about vision. The Mets didn\u2019t promise him a rotation spot, just a chance. That was enough.<\/p>\n

He entered spring training fighting for a roster spot and is now, arguably, their most reliable starter.<\/p>\n

With Frankie Montas, Sean Manaea, and Paul Blackburn all nearing returns, Canning could have been a temporary solution. But now? You don\u2019t fix what\u2019s not broken. The rotation\u2019s door is staying open for him.<\/p>\n

From discarded to indispensable: the story fans can rally behind<\/p>\n

What makes Canning\u2019s rise so satisfying is its relatability. Who hasn\u2019t been overlooked or misunderstood in the wrong environment? Who hasn\u2019t wanted just one more chance in the right hands?<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

Watching him thrive with the Mets is like seeing a jigsaw piece finally land in the puzzle it was meant for. The stuff was always there but the guidance wasn\u2019t. Until now.<\/p>\n

Pitchers like Canning remind us why baseball endures. It\u2019s not just a game of numbers, but of faith, opportunity, and transformation.<\/p>\n

Popular reading:<\/p>\n

Mets option struggling reliever to make room for new addition<\/a><\/p>\n

Related Headlines<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Some pitchers break your heart. They come in with hype, electric stuff, and a gleam of potential\u2014and then…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":35376,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2396],"tags":[152,5,1325,98,7272,101,4,1690,61,2548,4203,5808,1268,142],"class_list":{"0":"post-35375","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-mets","8":"tag-american-league","9":"tag-baseball","10":"tag-frankie-montas","11":"tag-griffin-canning","12":"tag-jeremy-hefner","13":"tag-mets","14":"tag-mlb","15":"tag-new-york","16":"tag-new-york-mets","17":"tag-newyork","18":"tag-newyorkmets","19":"tag-paul-blackburn","20":"tag-sean-manaea","21":"tag-yankees"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/114526751586700054","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35375","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35375"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35375\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35376"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35375"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35375"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35375"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}