The New York Mets may have acquired the services of the top free agent on the market in Juan Soto by giving him a 15-year, $765 million deal that could be worth as much as $805 million, but they know that their job this offseason to improve the roster and push it to World Series heights is far from over. Pitching remains a question mark for the Mets, even after the signing of yet another ex-New York Yankees player in Clay Holmes, and to that end, the Mets decided to sign starting pitcher Griffin Canning to a one-year deal.

As per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, Canning's contract with the Mets is worth $4.25 million, potentially rising to a total of $5.25 million based on potential bonuses. Canning has spent his entire big-league career to this point with the Los Angeles Angels, and his production has been up and down to say the least.

The Mets are looking at Canning as a potential reclamation project who provided value for the Angels last season as an innings eater who started 31 games and pitched in 171.2 innings. But Canning isn't someone who has an extended track record of being a quality starter. Last season, he put up an ERA of 5.19 that was well-warranted considering his worrying peripherals (his strikeout rate was at a career-worst 17.6 percent in 2024).

Regardless, the Mets have to cut costs to fill out the roster in the aftermath of their blockbuster signing of Soto, especially when they still have Sean Manaea and Pete Alonso to take care of in free agency. Canning, for now, will have to do, although one would think that he won't have too long of a leash in the rotation.

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Mets sign Griffin Canning as major reclamation project

Angels starting pitcher Griffin Canning (47) blows a bubble
© Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

There is something to be said about Griffin Canning's ability to eat up innings even after missing the entirety of the 2022 season due to Tommy John surgery. At the very least, Canning should help the Mets by being able to preserve the rest of the team's pitching corps, and perhaps New York's pitching coaches can help the former Angels starter to bump up his strikeout rate to where it was prior to 2024.

Through the first four seasons of Canning's career, his strikeouts per nine innings ranged from 8.90 to 9.85, and his contributions were worth 1.8 WAR (per Fangraphs) as recently as 2023. And with the Mets signing him to a low-cost one-year deal, there is little-to-no risk in bringing in the 28-year-old.