Angels Castoff Thriving in New York Reveals Why Things Didn't Work Out in Anaheim

New York Mets starting pitcher Griffin Canning reflected on his time with the Los Angeles Angels amid his breakout season and spoke about what changed for him upon his arrival in New York.

“It was difficult. We had four or five different managers and four or five different pitching coaches with the Angels,” Canning said to The Athletic. “Sometimes a new guy comes in and maybe doesn’t necessarily know you as well. Or just different organizational philosophies when people come in and out.”

The Angels drafted Canning with the 47th overall pick in 2017, and he made his debut with the Halos in 2019. He pitched four seasons with the Angels from 2019-24, missing 2022 due to injury. He had a career 4.78 ERA with the Halos.

Canning had a rough final year with the Angels in 2024, allowing the most earned runs in the American League and posting an ERA north of 5.00 for the second time in his Halos career. The Angels responded by shipping him to the Atlanta Braves the day after the World Series ended, and the Braves DFA'd Canning without a second thought.

The Mets took a chance on the former second-rounder, signing him to a one-year, $4.25 million contract. This change made all the difference in the 28-year-old's career.

“You see it with a lot of guys, just a change of scenery,” said Canning. “I was in Southern California my whole life. It’s nice to get out and experience something new.”

Canning is having a breakout year with the Mets, posting a 6-2 record with a 2.90 ERA through 59 innings pitched. He's forcing more groundouts than ever before with a 1.11 groundouts per air outs mark. He had previously never been above 1.00.

His sub-3.00 ERA is also a career first, and he's brought his strikeout percentage to 22.8% from 17.6% in 2024. He's also begun using his slider at a rate nine percent higher than 2024, now going to it nearly one third of the time.

His slider generates the highest whiff percentage among any of his pitches, causing a swing and miss 33.5% of the time.

The Angels are struggling as far as starting pitching goes — they currently hold the fifth-worst starter ERA in the American League — and are the only team in the majors to have used the same five starters since Opening Day. The Angels have a stretch of 28 games in 29 days on the horizon, and their lack of depth will leave them missing Canning even more.

For more Angels news, head over to Angels on SI.