UCLA Alum Griffin Canning Goes Down with Injury

Canning was in the midst of his best professional season ever, with a 7-3 record and a 3.91 ERA, solidifying himself as one of the Mets’ most reliable arms.

However, that may now be in jeopardy.

Atlanta Braves shortstop Nick Allen hit a routine grounder to shortstop, and as the play proceeded, Canning stepped off the mound with a noticeable non-contact injury, collapsing in serious pain. Ultimately, he had to be helped off the field.

Upon zooming in on the incident, it appeared that something may have popped. Given the landscape of today’s sports, immediate fear points to an Achilles injury.

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza didn’t confirm it, but he too suspects the worst.

“It looks like an Achilles injury,” Mendoza told The Athletic. “It sucks. You hate to see it, especially the way he went down right away.”

The Mets didn’t offer an immediate comment on the severity of the injury. They posted on X that Canning suffered a left ankle injury and would undergo further imaging.

Eventually, the Mets rallied behind their pitcher and won the game, 4-0.

If it is indeed an Achilles injury, it’s a massive blow to Canning, who was in the middle of a season where he not only bet on himself, but was proving his worth.

Major injuries are, unfortunately, no stranger to him. In 2022, he missed the entire season after suffering multiple setbacks in his recovery from a previous lower back stress fracture.

Not only that — what does this mean for Canning’s future?

It seemed like he was well on his way to earning a hefty contract extension from the Mets, but now, with a huge momentum stopper, who would be surprised if that gets put on ice?

The Mets have already been without their ace, Sean Manaea, who’s dealt with setbacks of his own following oblique and elbow injuries. They’re also missing Kodai Senga, who remains on the 15-day IL.

That leaves David Peterson, Clay Holmes, Paul Blackburn, and Frankie Montas — who recently came back from injury himself — to pick up the slack.

Canning’s presence on the mound was a stabilizing force for the Mets, who have been struggling with some summer blues, going 12-12 recently, including a brutal stretch where they lost 10 of 11 games.

Prior to that, it was a magical season for the Amazin’s. But with Canning gone, that magic seems to have turned black.