The San Diego Padres have signed starting pitcher Griffin Canning to a contract with terms unannounced as of yet, and the signing was reported by Mark Polishuk of MLBTradeRumors.com via the Divine Sports Gospel. Canning’s deal isn’t considered official yet, as he still has to pass a physical, and the Padres have to make another move with their 40-man roster to accommodate him after signing outfielder/first baseman Nick Castellanos earlier today.
The move represents a homecoming of sorts for Canning, but he’s had an uneven career to date. The native of Mission Viejo played his college baseball at UCLA, and he began his career as a Top 100 prospect with the Los Angeles Angels. His ERA for the Angels was an unsightly 4.78 over his first 508 innings for the Angels, with 94 of his appearances and the majority of his innings coming via starts.
The Angels bailed on Canning last offseason in a trade with the Atlanta Braves for outfielder Jorge Soler, but the deal didn’t work out well for either team. Soler has underperformed for the Angels, while Atlanta chose to non-tender Canning, given that Atlanta’s chief goal in that trade was to get rid of Soler’s contract, according to Polishuk.
Canning signed a one-year contract with the New York Mets for $4.25 million, and at first it looked like the Mets had struck gold as the pitcher posted a 2.47 ERA over his first nine appearances for New York. But the right-hander struggled after that, and his ERA rose to 3.77 in his next seven appearances, and he ruptured his Achilles tendon in late June.
Presumably, the money to sign Canning is similar to that of the Mets contract, and reports have Canning ready to pitch on Opening Day. He threw for scouts in a showcase last week, and according to Polishuk his velocity was up to 93 mph even though it’s relatively early in his rehabilitation process.
The Padres had to beat out several teams to got him. The Mets, St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago White Sox were all considered in the mix to land Canning, but he’ll join the Padres as a possible tryout/depth piece. That money number is a more than the usual contract number for players like Canning, but the combination of his experience and status as a former prospect probably created a bidding war of sorts, and the Padres are in desperate need of rotation depth and possibilities.