Headlines

  • Angels To Have New Manager In 2026
  • Rays Sale To Patrick Zalupski’s Group Officially Completed
  • Guardians Promote Chase DeLauter For Wild Card Series
  • Bruce Bochy Will Not Return As Rangers Manager Amid “Financial Uncertainty”
  • Liam Hendriks Undergoes Ulnar Nerve Transposition Surgery
  • Twins Fire Rocco Baldelli
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors

MLB Trade Rumors

Remove Ads
  • Home
  • Teams
    • AL East
      • Baltimore Orioles
      • Boston Red Sox
      • New York Yankees
      • Tampa Bay Rays
      • Toronto Blue Jays
    • AL Central
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cleveland Guardians
      • Detroit Tigers
      • Kansas City Royals
      • Minnesota Twins
    • AL West
      • Athletics
      • Houston Astros
      • Los Angeles Angels
      • Seattle Mariners
      • Texas Rangers
    • NL East
      • Atlanta Braves
      • Miami Marlins
      • New York Mets
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • Washington Nationals
    • NL Central
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Pittsburgh Pirates
      • St. Louis Cardinals
    • NL West
      • Arizona Diamondbacks
      • Colorado Rockies
      • Los Angeles Dodgers
      • San Diego Padres
      • San Francisco Giants
  • About
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Tim Dierkes
    • Writing team
    • Advertise
    • Archives
  • Contact
  • Tools
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • 2026-27 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Agency Database
  • NBA/NFL/NHL
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • App
  • Chats
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Transactions

Nationals Sign Michael Soroka

By Darragh McDonald | December 19, 2024 at 11:58pm CDT

The Nationals announced that they have signed right-hander Michael Soroka to a one-year deal, which reportedly comes with a $9MM salary. The club had 40-man vacancies and didn’t need to make a corresponding move. The ISE Baseball client will reportedly be used as a starter.

Soroka, 27, came into the offseason as one of the more interesting free agents available. He found success as a starting pitcher in his early 20s, back in 2019, but missed most of the 2020 to 2023 seasons due to injuries. In 2024, he struggled badly as a starter but then got moved to a bullpen role and finished the season in very strong fashion. It could have been argued that he earned himself another shot at a rotation job or that he found a role that worked for him and should continue as a reliever, though it seems he will take another shot at being a starter next year.

Prior to his 2019 breakout, Soroka was already a name to watch. He was a first-round pick of Atlanta in 2015 and found himself on top 100 prospect lists as he climbed through the minors. He debuted with five starts in 2018 and then fully cemented himself as a big leaguer in 2019, making 29 starts and logging 174 2/3 innings while allowing 2.68 earned runs per nine. His 20.3% strikeout rate was just below average but his 5.8% walk rate and 51.2% ground ball rate were both notably better than par.

That was Soroka’s age-21 season, so it seemed Atlanta had a rotation building block for years to come. Unfortunately, the baseball gods had a miserable fate in store for Soroka’s next chapter. In his third start of the shortened 2020 season, he had to be helped off the field with a leg injury, later revealed to be a torn right achilles tendon which required surgery. In 2021, he missed some time due to shoulder inflammation and later required another surgery on his achilles. He got back on the mound in 2022 and pitched in the minors, though that season was ended due to elbow soreness. In 2023, he was frequently shuttled between Triple-A and the majors and finished the season on the IL due to forearm inflammation.

After those four years in the injury wilderness, Atlanta seemingly didn’t have much faith in Soroka bouncing back. He was flipped to the White Sox in November, part of a five-for-one trade that saw Atlanta flip multiple spare parts for Aaron Bummer in a roster clearout move.

Unlike Atlanta, Chicago was aggressively rebuilding and had more bandwidth for being patient with Soroka, hoping for a bounceback. It didn’t materialize at first. Soroka started the season with nine starts but had a 6.39 ERA in those. His 46.9% grounder rate was strong but his matching strikeout and walk rates of 12.4% were both bad.

The last of those starts was on May 12. Soroka was moved to the bullpen at that point, which is when things became very interesting. He tossed 36 innings out of the bullpen in the remainder of the season with a 2.75 ERA. His 13% walk rate was oddly high and his grounder rate was just 26.5% but he managed to punch out 39% of batter’s faced.

That came with a significant change in his pitch mix. In those nine starts, he threw 22.5% four-seamers, 30.8% sinkers, 31.9% sliders and 14.7% changeups. After moving to the bullpen, he pushed towards a fastball/slider mix, with 43.2% of his pitches being the former and 41.6% the latter. His sinker and changeup rates dropped to 10.9% and 4.3%, respectively. Despite limiting his arsenal, he was effective against hitters on both sides of the plate. Righties hit just .197/.306/.296 against Soroka the reliever while lefties mustered only a .179/.299/.286 line.

Given the amount of success he had in that relief role, it might be tempting to suggest that he should stay there, but there are also counterarguments. For one thing, despite the many twists and turns in his career, Soroka is still young. He is currently 27 and won’t turn 28 until August. He might not want to give up on the possibility of being a starter just yet.

Furthermore, teams these days don’t tend to view relief success as any kind of reason to not try a guy in a starting role. In recent years, bullpen-to-rotation conversions have become all the rage, with guys like Seth Lugo, Michael King, Garrett Crochet, Reynaldo López, Jeffrey Springs and others making the move successfully. It doesn’t always work out, with A.J. Puk being one example, but even then the downside is pretty harmless as the pitcher just lands as a viable reliever as a fallback.

The Nats should be able to give Soroka a chance to earn a rotation job, at least for a while. They have some intriguing arms but most of them are fairly lacking in experience. The quartet of MacKenzie Gore, Jake Irvin, Mitchell Parker and DJ Herz all had decent results in 2024, with each posting an ERA of 4.41 or lower. However, Gore’s 372 2/3 career innings are the most of the bunch. Irvin is at 308 while Parker and Herz just debuted in 2024 and are below 200. Josiah Gray had UCL surgery in July and won’t be a factor until late in the 2025 season, if at all. Cade Cavalli missed all of 2023 and 2024 recovering from Tommy John surgery and it’s unknown what kind of workload he can take on next year.

Washington can give Soroka a rotation gig to start the year and see how things go. If he struggles out of the gate, they can push him to the bullpen and give those starts to one of the younger pitchers. But if things go well, he can be very valuable for the Nats. If they are able to emerge from their ongoing rebuild, he can be a part of that, but he could be a midseason trade candidate even if the club isn’t ready for that step yet. Even if he’s pushed to a relief role, he could still be an interesting deadline trade candidate.

It’s also theoretically possible that he pitches his way into consideration for a qualifying offer at season’s end, as even mid-rotation or back-end guys like Nick Pivetta, Luis Severino and Nick Martinez got QOs this year. In that scenario, Soroka could stay with the Nats all year and help them make a contending push while also providing some future value at the end of the year, though that will be a concern for another day.

At the start of the offseason, MLBTR predicted Soroka for a two-year deal worth $14MM. He has settled for a lesser guarantee but on a stronger annual value, with the chance to return to the open market a year from now. For him personally, that could be a lucrative bet, as it’s possible he will have much more earning power at the end of the 2025 season.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first reported that the Nats and Soroka were in agreement. Robert Murray of FanSided reported that it was a one-year deal worth $9MM.

Share Repost Send via email

Newsstand Transactions Washington Nationals Michael Soroka

144 comments

Rangers Sign Alan Trejo To Minor League Contract

By Anthony Franco | December 19, 2024 at 11:55pm CDT

The Rangers announced the signing of infielder Alan Trejo to a minor league deal with a Spring Training invite. Texas also re-signed catcher Cooper Johnson and added reliever Nolan Hoffman as non-roster invitees.

Of that trio, Trejo is the only one with MLB experience. The righty-hitting utilityman has suited up for the Rockies in each of the last four seasons. He has hit .228/.276/.334 across 469 plate appearances in the big leagues. Colorado cut him loose in June. Trejo landed a minor league contract with the Dodgers. He finished the year with Triple-A Oklahoma City, where he hit .265/.346/.408 with six homers across 241 plate appearances.

Trejo isn’t going to provide much offensive upside. He can play anywhere on the infield, though, with solid grades for his second base defense in particular. He should open next season at Triple-A Round Rock. Trejo is out of options, so the Rangers would need to keep him on the MLB roster or run him through waivers if they call him up at any point.

Johnson is a 26-year-old catcher who played this year with Texas’ Double-A affiliate. The Ole Miss product hit .235/.355/.474 with 14 home runs in the Texas League. Hoffman, a 27-year-old righty, has pitched in the Seattle and Baltimore systems. He spent the ’24 campaign in Triple-A with the Orioles. Hoffman pitched to a 3.88 ERA while striking out 28% of opponents across 58 innings.

Share Repost Send via email

Texas Rangers Transactions Alan Trejo

1 comment

Diamondbacks, Cristian Pache Agree To Minor League Deal

By Steve Adams | December 19, 2024 at 3:44pm CDT

The D-backs and outfielder Cristian Pache have agreed to a minor league deal, reports Steve Gilbert of MLB.com. Pache, a client of MVP Sports Group, will head to spring training as a non-roster invitee and compete for a bench job.

The 26-year-old Pache split the 2024 season between the Phillies, Orioles and Marlins. A lights-out defender with an anemic bat, Pache posted a combined .200/.273/.279 batting line with an alarming 35% strikeout rate in 183 plate appearances on the season. He’s out of minor league options, so none of those clubs ever had the chance to send Pache down for additional work.

Once one of the game’s top prospects with the Braves, Pache was always regarded as an elite defender whose future would hinge on whether the bat would come around. That’s still yet to happen. He’s seen 610 plate appearances between the Braves, A’s, Phillies, Orioles and Marlins but managed only a .181/.243/.275 line (46 wRC+). Injuries have perhaps contributed — he had both elbow and knee surgery in 2023 — but that alone can’t explain away the extent of his struggles in the majors.

Though he’s never shown that he can hit in the majors — or even all that much in Triple-A — Pache has posted superlative defensive grades. Scouts and defensive metrics agree that he’s sensational in the field, evidenced by career marks of 12 Defensive Runs Saved and 17 Outs Above Average in just 1503 big league innings.

Pache’s glove alone would make him a sensible enough depth pickup for any team, particularly on a minor league deal like this one. He fits the D-backs better than most, however, as he offers a right-handed complement to Jake McCarthy, Alek Thomas and Corbin Carroll. Pache can play any of the three outfield spots, and while he’s not really a true platoon option, his career .230/.299/.370 (87 wRC+) against lefties at least makes him playable when there’s a southpaw on the bump.

The D-backs have drawn trade interest in outfielders like McCarthy and Thomas, though it seems unlikely there’s any correlation at play. Rather, the Snakes likely pounced on the opportunity to bring in a plus-plus defender who could complement their existing outfield nicely and do so at a negligible cost without any real risk.

Share Repost Send via email

Arizona Diamondbacks Transactions Cristian​ Pache

9 comments

Brewers, Bruce Zimmermann Agree To Minor League Deal

By Steve Adams | December 19, 2024 at 3:11pm CDT

The Brewers have agreed to a minor league deal with left-hander Bruce Zimmermann, reports Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. The Ballengee client will be in big league camp as a non-roster invitee this coming spring.

Zimmermann, 29, has appeared in parts of four seasons. All four of those came with the Baltimore native’s hometown club. From 2020-23, he pitched 158 1/3 frames for the Orioles, mostly out of the rotation, posting a 5.57 ERA along the way. He regularly showed plus command (career 5.2% walk rate), but Zimmermann’s 89-91 mph fastball proved too hittable and led to troubles keeping the ball in the park (2.27 HR/9).

While Zimmermann’s big league results have clearly been sub-par, he’s logged a more palatable 4.20 ERA in 306 1/3 innings across parts of five Triple-A seasons. Despite the lack of velocity, he’s punched out a solid 22.8% of his opponent at that level and coupled that with a similarly sound 8% walk rate. The 2024 season was the first since 2019 in which Zimmermann did not appear in the majors. He pitched 80 minor league innings with a 4.16 ERA on the year, splitting his time between the rotation and bullpen.

Zimmermann will give the Brewers some more affordable rotation depth behind the projected starting five of Freddy Peralta, Brandon Woodruff, Nestor Cortes, Aaron Civale and Tobias Myers. Southpaws Aaron Ashby and DL Hall are both on the 40-man roster and could get looks in the ’pen or as starters.

Other rotation candidates include Carlos Rodriguez, Logan Henderson and Chad Patrick, though the latter two have yet to actually make their MLB debuts. Top pitching prospect Jacob Misiorowski had a nice season between Double-A and Triple-A last year, and 2022 second-rounder should be in line for his MLB debut at some point during the 2025 campaign. Milwaukee has been on the hunt for extra rotation stability this offseason but doesn’t have much money to work with as they work toward that goal.

The Brewers picked up a plug-and-play mid-rotation arm, Cortes, in the trade sending closer Devin Williams to the Yankees, but they’re still likely to be in the mix for some more low-cost arms.

Share Repost Send via email

Milwaukee Brewers Transactions Bruce Zimmermann

5 comments

Reds Claim Roansy Contreras

By Steve Adams | December 19, 2024 at 2:50pm CDT

The Reds claimed right-hander Roansy Contreras off waivers from the Rangers on Thursday, per announcements from both clubs. Texas had designated him for assignment last week. Cincinnati had a pair of vacancies on its 40-man roster, so a corresponding move isn’t necessary.

Contreras, still just 25, will join his second organization of the offseason and third of the past calendar year. Once a top pitching prospect with the Yankees and Pirates — New York traded him to Pittsburgh in the Jameson Taillon swap — he’s begun to bounce around the league in journeyman fashion. Pittsburgh traded him to Anaheim for cash back in May, and the Rangers claimed him off waivers from the Halos on Halloween.

Back in 2022, Contreras looked like he was on his way to cementing a long-term place in the Pirates’ rotation. He pitched 95 innings with a 3.79 ERA, 21.1% strikeout rate and 9.6% walk rate in that rookie campaign. A year later, the right-hander lost more than a mile per hour off his heater and was trounced for a 6.59 ERA in 68 1/3 big league frames. His work in Triple-A Indianapolis was similarly shaky, with an ERA just under 5.00 in eight appearances (six starts).

Out of minor league options and losing his grip on a roster spot, Contreras was designated for assignment back in May. The Angels leaned on him for 52 innings of low-leverage relief following that cash swap, and Contreras held his own with a 4.33 ERA and more questionable rate stats (17.9 K%, 10.6 BB%). The full-time move to the ’pen didn’t get Contreras’ velocity back up to its previous 96 mph average; he sat 94.9 mph with the pitch in 2024.

If Contreras lasts the rest of the offseason on the Reds’ 40-man roster, he’ll compete for a bullpen spot this spring. He’d need to make the Opening Day club or else be designated for assignment once again, as he can’t be sent down to Triple-A without first clearing waivers. Alexis Diaz, Brent Suter, Fernando Cruz, Sam Moll, Emilio Pagan and Tony Santillan are all likely locked into spots (barring injuries or trades), but there could still be a couple openings up for grabs in camp, depending on how the front office proceeds for the remainder of the offseason.

Share Repost Send via email

Cincinnati Reds Texas Rangers Transactions Roansy Contreras

49 comments

Mariners Claim Nick Raposo

By Darragh McDonald | December 19, 2024 at 2:20pm CDT

2:20pm: The Mariners have now announced the claim. Their 40-man roster is up to 38 players.

1:00pm: The Mariners have claimed catcher Nick Raposo off waivers from the Blue Jays, MLBTR has learned. The latter club designated him for assignment last week. The Mariners had 40-man roster vacancies and didn’t need to make a corresponding move.

Raposo, 27 in June, still hasn’t made his major league debut. The Cardinals added him to their 40-man roster in June when both Willson Contreras and Iván Herrera were on the injured list, but Contreras was reinstated a few days later. Raposo was optioned to the minors without getting into a game. He was designated for assignment in July when the Cards added Erick Fedde and Tommy Pham in a deal just before the deadline. He was claimed by the Jays and stuck on their roster until last week, getting designated for assignment again when Toronto signed Yimi García.

Over the past four years, Raposo has taken 808 plate appearances in the minors. He has a combined batting line of .241/.321/.387 in that time, which translates to a wRC+ of 85. Baseball Prospectus has generally given him solid marks for his blocking and throwing in the minors.

The Mariners only really have one proper catcher on the 40-man roster right now in Cal Raleigh. They also have Mitch Garver, who they signed last offseason with the idea of using him as a full-time designated hitter. That plan didn’t work out as Garver struggled with the bat in 2024, so the M’s did eventually put him behind the plate a few times, either to try to extract some value from him or with the hope that returning to catching would somehow help get back in a groove offensively. Seby Zavala was the third backstop to play for the M’s in 2024 but he was outrighted off the roster in September and signed a minor league deal with the Red Sox last month.

It’s unclear how the M’s plan to tackle their catching situation in 2025, apart from Raleigh being the obvious mainstay. If Garver is the backup, then Raposo can serve as an optionable depth piece in Triple-A. If Garver is going to be heavily in the DH mix, Raposo could battle for the backup job. The nature of that battle will depend on who else the M’s bring in, whether that’s veterans on non-roster deals or perhaps other waiver claims such as this one.

Share Repost Send via email

Seattle Mariners Toronto Blue Jays Transactions Nick Raposo

19 comments

Phillies, Nick Vespi Agree To Minor League Deal

By Steve Adams | December 19, 2024 at 2:12pm CDT

The Phillies have agreed to a minor league deal with free agent left-hander Nick Vespi, reports Matt Gelb of The Athletic. The Ballengee Group client will be in big league camp as a non-roster invitee this spring.

Vespi, 29, has seen big league time with the Orioles in each of the past three seasons. He’s tallied 53 1/3 innings along the way, pitching to a solid 3.88 ERA with a slightly below-average 20.9% strikeout rate and a very strong 5.9% walk rate. Vespi embodies the “finesse lefty” archetype, sitting 89 mph on his cutter, but he’s missed bats (12.9% swinging-strike rate) and kept the ball on the ground (44.7%) at clips that are slightly better than league average.

Despite the solid work in the majors, Vespi was designated for assignment in late August and passed through waivers unclaimed. A disastrous showing in Triple-A this year surely contributed to that outcome. Vespi pitched 42 1/3 innings down in Norfolk but was rocked for a 7.23 ERA. A sky-high .424 average on balls in play played a role in inflating his earned run average, but Vespi also walked a very uncharacteristic 14.6% of his opponents and plunked three more. A whopping 16% of his opponents in Triple-A reached via base-on-balls or hit-by-pitch.

If Vespi can get back to the solid command he showed both in Triple-A and in the majors, he’ll have a good chance of pitching his way into the Phillies’ plans. He may not throw hard, but he’s been good in three Triple-A seasons prior to 2024 and has had some solid big league results in Baltimore. Vespi generally limits hard contact well — career 87.9 mph average exit velocity and 37.7% hard-hit rate — and did so quite well in Norfolk this year even while struggling with his bottom-line results (85.7 mph average exit velocity, 27.6% hard-hit rate).

He’ll need to earn the opportunity with a strong spring or impressive early work in Triple-A Lehigh Valley, but if Vespi does land on the big league roster, he can be controlled not only for the 2025 season but an additional five years beyond that point.

Share Repost Send via email

Philadelphia Phillies Transactions Nick Vespi

10 comments

Mariners To Re-Sign Josh Fleming To Minor League Deal

By Darragh McDonald | December 19, 2024 at 12:20pm CDT

The Mariners are going to sign left-hander Josh Fleming to a minor league deal, reports Robert Murray of FanSided. The Republik Sports client also receives an invite to major league spring training.

Fleming, 29 in May, just signed a minor league deal with the Mariners in August. He made 19 appearances for their Triple-A club down the stretch, allowing 4.50 earned runs per nine innings. He didn’t get added to the roster and became a free agent at season’s end, though has now circled back the M’s on a fresh deal.

The southpaw has appeared as a swingman in each of the past five major league seasons, mostly with the Rays but also with the Pirates. He has appeared in 80 major league games, including 25 starts, tossing 254 2/3 innings with a 4.77 ERA. His 14.6% strikeout rate is well below par but his 7.5% walk rate is good and his 58.4% ground ball rate quite strong. Among pitchers with at least 250 innings pitched from 2020 to the present, only five of them have a better grounder rate than Fleming: Clay Holmes, Andre Pallante, Framber Valdez, Emmanuel Clase and Logan Webb.

Fleming’s strikeout rate is far lower than everyone in that group, which has prevented him from posting especially strong results, but he’s been serviceable enough to serve as a solid depth piece. On a minor league deal, there’s no risk for the M’s.

Seattle has a very strong rotation but the depth is a little concerning. Luis Castillo, George Kirby, Logan Gilbert, Bryce Miller and Bryan Woo are an excellent front five but things get flimsy beyond that. There have been some trade rumors surrounding Castillo this winter, which could lead to Emerson Hancock or Jhonathan Díaz moving up to the number five spot. In the bullpen, guys like Matt Brash and Jackson Kowar are working back from Tommy John surgeries, while Gregory Santos spent most of 2024 on the injured list due to arm issues.

Fleming gives the club a bit of depth for both areas without taking up a roster spot. If he gets added at any point, he is out of options but has less than four years of service time, meaning he could be retained into future seasons via arbitration.

Share Repost Send via email

Seattle Mariners Transactions Josh Fleming

18 comments

KBO’s Doosan Bears Sign Zach Logue

By Anthony Franco | December 18, 2024 at 10:22pm CDT

The Doosan Bears of the Korea Baseball Organization have signed left-hander Zach Logue to an $800K contract, reports Jeeho Yoo of Yonhap News. That includes a $100K signing bonus for the MSM Sports Management client. As a corresponding move, Doosan voided its previous agreement with righty Thomas Hatch because of concerns about his physical.

That opens an opportunity for the 28-year-old Logue. The southpaw is coming off an excellent Triple-A showing. Logue pitched 97 1/3 innings of 2.59 ERA ball in the upper minors between the Braves and Dodgers systems. That earned him a late-season cameo with Los Angeles. Logue pitched twice for the Dodgers and gave up four runs over two innings.

Logue has appeared in the majors in three consecutive seasons. The majority of that experience came with the A’s in 2022. He started 10 of 14 appearances that year, struggling to a 6.79 earned run average over 57 innings. Logue made three long relief appearances for the Tigers the following season, allowing nine runs over 11 innings.

The Dodgers declined to tender him a contract last month. He could certainly have found a minor league deal if he wanted to stay in affiliated ball, but he’ll land a much better guarantee with the Bears. This will be Logue’s first overseas work after eight years in the minors. He joins fellow southpaw Cole Irvin and outfielder Jake Cave as the team’s three foreign-born players.

Share Repost Send via email

Korea Baseball Organization Transactions Thomas Hatch Zach Logue

4 comments

Mets Sign Griffin Canning

By Anthony Franco | December 18, 2024 at 9:45pm CDT

The Mets finalized the signing of right-hander Griffin Canning to a one-year free agent deal. The Wasserman client is reportedly guaranteed $4.25MM and could make an additional $1MM via incentives. Canning would unlock $250K bonuses for reaching 22, 25, 28 and 31 starts. The Mets had four open roster spots, so no corresponding move was necessary.

This will technically be Canning’s third team of the offseason. The Angels dealt him to the Braves in a one-for-one swap for Jorge Soler within hours of the trade market reopening. As MLBTR’s Steve Adams pointed out at the time, Canning wasn’t a lock to stick in Atlanta for more than a few weeks. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected him for a $5.1MM salary in his final season of arbitration eligibility. The Braves balked at that price and non-tendered him, affirming that the trade was about shedding the final two years of Soler’s contract.

That made Canning a free agent for the first time in his career. The 28-year-old heads to Queens and should compete for a rotation job. Canning has over five years of service time and cannot be sent to the minors without his consent. He’ll be on the MLB roster in some capacity, though it’s possible he’ll be pushed into long relief to open the year.

A second-round pick out of UCLA in 2017, Canning immediately became one of the Angels’ better pitching prospects. He profiled as a quick-moving college arm who had a chance to land in the middle of the rotation. Canning reached the big leagues within two years, but he’s had an up-and-down career. He posted a 4.58 earned run average over 90 1/3 innings as a rookie. His best season came during the shortened 2020 schedule, as he turned in a 3.99 ERA through 11 starts.

That remains Canning’s only sub-4.00 showing. Opponents tagged him for a 5.60 ERA across 14 MLB appearances in 2021, leading the Halos to option him to Triple-A. He landed on the injured list almost immediately with a stress reaction in his lower back. That carried into the following year and cost him the entire 2022 season.

At the time, it looked as if injuries could derail his career. The back was the most severe, but he’d also battled recurring elbow soreness early in his career. Canning has fortunately managed to stay mostly healthy over the last two seasons. He landed on the injured list twice in 2023, though both were minimal stints related to minor leg issues. Canning avoided the IL entirely this year. His effectiveness has waned, however.

Canning pitched to a 4.32 ERA across 127 innings two seasons ago. This year was a struggle, as he allowed 5.19 earned runs per nine over a career-high 171 2/3 frames. His strikeout rate plummeted to a personal-low 17.6%, more than eight points south of the previous year’s 25.9% clip. The walks ticked up a couple points while his swinging strike percentage dipped from 12.8% to a league average 11% rate.

The stuff also took a slight step backwards. Canning averaged 93.4 MPH on his four-seam fastball this season, a tick below the prior season’s 94.7 MPH mark. Opponents teed off on that pitch, connecting on 16 homers with a .529 slugging percentage. Canning features a fairly typical four-pitch mix (fastball, changeup, slider, curveball) and has intermittently looked like a fourth starter. The Mets will try to help him find that form more consistently.

Canning becomes the third potential starter whom the Mets have added via free agency. They went to the middle of the market for upside plays on Frankie Montas and Clay Holmes, the latter of whom will stretch into rotation work after six seasons as a full-time reliever. Canning doesn’t have the same ceiling — hence the far lower price tag — but aligns with New York’s seeming preference for stockpiling depth.

Montas, Kodai Senga, David Peterson, and Holmes should all be in the Opening Day rotation. Canning, Tylor Megill and Paul Blackburn would vie for the fifth starter job as things stand. The Mets could prefer to run a six-man rotation. Senga was limited to one regular season start this year by injury. They’ll need to closely monitor Holmes’ workload so he doesn’t fatigue. Blackburn finished 2024 on the IL and underwent a postseason spinal surgery that could delay him in Spring Training.

The Mets could use at least another mid-rotation arm to solidify that group. They’ve stayed in contact with Sean Manaea since he declined their qualifying offer. Various reports have cast them as a long shot to land Corbin Burnes, but The Athletic tied them to Jack Flaherty and Nick Pivetta (each of whom remains unsigned) during the Winter Meetings. Adding another starter would allow the Mets to push at least one of Canning, Megill or Blackburn into a multi-inning relief role.

RosterResource calculates New York’s salary commitments and competitive balance tax number around $255MM. Owner Steve Cohen has been comfortable pushing their CBT number well beyond $300MM in previous years. There’s little reason for him to pull back now that they’ve landed Juan Soto. For now, they remain in the lowest tier of luxury tax penalization. They’re taxed at a 50% rate on spending between $241MM and $261MM, so the tax hit on Canning is $2.125MM. That brings the investment to $6.375MM before incentives.

Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic first reported the Mets were signing Canning to a $4.25MM deal with $1MM in bonuses. The Associated Press reported the incentive specifics.

Image courtesy of Imagn.

Share Repost Send via email

New York Mets Newsstand Transactions Griffin Canning

291 comments
« Previous Page
Load More Posts
Show all
    Top Stories

    Angels To Have New Manager In 2026

    Rays Sale To Patrick Zalupski’s Group Officially Completed

    Guardians Promote Chase DeLauter For Wild Card Series

    Bruce Bochy Will Not Return As Rangers Manager Amid “Financial Uncertainty”

    Liam Hendriks Undergoes Ulnar Nerve Transposition Surgery

    Twins Fire Rocco Baldelli

    Giants Fire Bob Melvin

    Pirates Sign Manager Don Kelly To Extension

    Pete Alonso To Opt Out Of Mets Contract, Enter Free Agency

    Padres Place Ramón Laureano On Injured List Due To Finger Fracture

    Willson Contreras Will Consider Waiving No-Trade Clause But Prefers To Remain With Cardinals

    Cade Horton To Miss At Least One Playoff Series Due To Rib Fracture

    MLB To Take Over Mariners’ Broadcasts In 2026

    Nolan Arenado More Open To Waiving No-Trade Clause As Cardinals Plan To Rebuild

    Sonny Gray Will Consider Waiving No-Trade Clause This Offseason

    Nationals To Hire Paul Toboni As President Of Baseball Operations

    Astros’ Luis Garcia Will Miss 2026 Season Due To Elbow Surgery

    Cubs Hoping To Reinstate Kyle Tucker On Friday; Daniel Palencia Reinstated Today

    Mets Designate Jose Siri for Assignment

    Blue Jays Designate Alek Manoah For Assignment, Activate Anthony Santander

    Recent

    Angels To Have New Manager In 2026

    Chaim Bloom Discusses Marmol, GM, Arenado, Gray

    Brewers Outright Erick Fedde

    Picollo: “Safe To Say” Salvador Perez Will Return To Royals In 2026

    Padres Select Martin Maldonado

    Lucas Giolito Unlikely To Pitch Again This Season

    Pirates Make Changes To Coaching Staff

    Luke Keaschall To Undergo Thumb Surgery

    Athletics General Manager David Forst To Return In 2026

    Kendrick: D-backs’ Payroll Likely To Decline, Club Still Intent On Competing In 2026

    MLBTR Newsletter - Hot stove highlights in your inbox, five days a week

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • Every MLB Trade In July
    Trade Rumors App for iOS and Android App Store Google Play

    MLBTR Features

    MLBTR Features

    • Remove Ads, Support Our Writers
    • Front Office Originals
    • Tim Dierkes' MLB Mailbag
    • Front Office Fantasy Baseball
    • MLBTR Podcast
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • 2026-27 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • MLBTR On Twitter
    • MLBTR On Facebook
    • Team Facebook Pages
    • How To Set Up Notifications For Breaking News
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors

    Rumors By Team

    • Angels Rumors
    • Astros Rumors
    • Athletics Rumors
    • Blue Jays Rumors
    • Braves Rumors
    • Brewers Rumors
    • Cardinals Rumors
    • Cubs Rumors
    • Diamondbacks Rumors
    • Dodgers Rumors
    • Giants Rumors
    • Guardians Rumors
    • Mariners Rumors
    • Marlins Rumors
    • Mets Rumors
    • Nationals Rumors
    • Orioles Rumors
    • Padres Rumors
    • Phillies Rumors
    • Pirates Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Rays Rumors
    • Red Sox Rumors
    • Reds Rumors
    • Rockies Rumors
    • Royals Rumors
    • Tigers Rumors
    • Twins Rumors
    • White Sox Rumors
    • Yankees Rumors

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives
    • RSS/Twitter Feeds By Team

    MLBTR INFO

    • Advertise
    • About
    • Commenting Policy
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

    Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

    hide arrows scroll to top

    Register

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version