Padres' Offseason Pitching Addition Suddenly at Risk of Losing Roster Spot

The San Diego Padres made all sorts of moves around the roster over the offseason, with the front office taking a quantity over quality approach.

With the Padres' need to build out the roster in a more well-rounded approach, the team took some chances on guys who were cast off from previous teams. This was especially true within the pitching staff, with San Diego bringing in a wide range of arms to compete for the starting rotation.

One of these was veteran Griffin Canning, who was coming off a nice season with the New York Mets before he suffered a torn Achilles that cut his year short. But before he went down with the injury, Canning looked great on the mound for New York, posting an ERA of 3.77 over 76.1 innings pitched.

His performance was good enough for the Padres to bring him into the mix, and Canning was expected to give this staff a boost. But so far, his time in San Diego has been very rough, with Canning struggling heavily on the mound.

Overall, the right-hander has posted an ERA of 7.38 over eight starts (10 appearances), and he is now in danger of losing his roster spot.

Canning started off his Padres tenure strong, going five innings and allowing just one run against the Chicago White Sox.

But since he hasn't been able to find any form of consistency on the mound. Canning has allowed at least three runs in seven of his 10 appearances this season.

In his most recent outing behind an opener, he recorded just two outs while giving up four runs on four hits.

At first, there was a thought that Canning's struggles were from his long recovery, but they have lingered on. The veteran just hasn't been able to get guys out, and it's cost the Padres greatly.

Canning had a career ERA of 4.78 with the Los Angeles Angels over five seasons before he went to the Mets.

San Diego was hoping to get a strong year from Canning when they signed him to a one-year deal that guarantees $4.25 million. However, the veteran hasn't been able to replicate his results from last year before the injury, and now his status with the Padres is in real jeopardy.

The Padres can't afford to keep allowing Canning to take the mound, and with the team getting guys back from injury soon, his time with the team seems limited.

Both Nick Pivetta and Joe Musgrove should return to the starting rotation after the All-Star break. Germán Márquez and Matt Waldron should be back before then.

Also, the Padres got a strong spot start from JP Sears, and will likely see what he can do moving forward.

That could spell bad news for Canning unless he turns things around quickly.

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