Inside The Mets

Griffin Canning reveals reason for choosing Mets this offseason

The New York Mets have an advantage over most of the league when it comes to recruiting free-agent pitchers.
Lindsay Crosby|
Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Griffin Canning (47) delivers a pitch during the first inning against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field.
Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Griffin Canning (47) delivers a pitch during the first inning against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. | Jordan Johnson-Imagn Images

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Offseason add Griffin Canning chose the New York Mets over other suitors because of the pitching development group and the team's high-tech pitching lab.

Canning's career hasn't gone the way he envisioned. After a dominant career at UCLA, the righty was taken with a 2nd round pick by the Los Angeles Angels in the 2017 MLB Draft. Debuting in the majors less than two years later, Canning departed the Angels this offseason with a 4.78 career ERA and a .424 winning percentage, having never figured things out in Anaheim.

He's hopeful that the Mets can help him improve those career numbers. “Sometimes you kind of come into a new environment and somebody might say something a different way or little things like that,” Canning told reporters on Tuesday. “You can kind of feed off the energy of the guys.”

But just as important as the environment is the technology and the coaches instructing you on it. And for the Mets, their track record speaks for themselves.

“I think it would be stupid not to use the technology to get yourself better,” Canning told reporters. “But it also matters the guys that are running it and dissecting it and boil it down for you in a simple way you can understand it.”

The guys "running it and dissecting it" for the Mets include pitching coach Jeremy Hefner and director of pitching development Eric Jagers, two of the many organizational members that were directly credited by pitcher Sean Manaea for his career year in 2024. After going 12-6 with a 3.47 ERA, both career-best marks for a full-length season, Manaea signed a three-year, $75M deal to return to the Mets this winter.

The Mets' pitching lab, which they've had for three seasons, is considered to be one of the best in all of MLB. Labeled a priority by owner Steve Cohen, the facility is equipped with a KineTrax motion capture system to analyze player mechanics, force plates to measure power generation power by pitchers, and other high-tech advancements to help understand (and improve) the organization's arms.

It's hard to argue that Cohen's investment hasn't paid off. Manaea altered his mechanics last season, notably dropping his arm angle from 33° to nearly 22° in an emulation of Atlanta Braves ace Chris Sale, and saw his now more powerful sinker and sweeper hold opposing hitters to batting averages of just .200.

Reliever Drew Smith, fresh off of a disappointing 2023 season that saw his ERA balloon to 4.15 after losing velocity on his fastball and seeing his slider drop to below-average vertical movement down the stretch, went to the pitching lab to work on his mechanics. With the organization's help, Smith went back to his old mechanics and, with his confidence restored, gave the Mets a 3.06 ERA in 2024.

Read More: New York Mets re-sign Drew Smith to one-year deal

Canning's hoping to see similar results, thanks to information that he had with the Angels but didn't know how to interpret. “The Angels might have had all the stuff, but they really didn’t incorporate it. They kind of, no fault of theirs, wanted to give guys the information when they felt they were ready for it because it was overwhelming sometimes."

It may be overwhelming up front, but the Mets have a track record of being able to successfully interpret it to make meaningful improvements. Is Canning the next breakout success? He's not expecting to be given anything but is willing to put in the work to earn his place. "I'm competing for a spot - I feel like that's all you can ask (for)."

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Lindsay Crosby
LINDSAY CROSBY

Lindsay is a contributor for Mets On SI. He is an IBWAA award-winning baseball writer and podcaster living in the Southeast, covering Auburn University baseball since 2021 and the Atlanta Braves since 2022. He can most commonly be found in a baseball press box and you can follow him on Twitter/X at @CrosbyBaseball."

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