Was this Alex Anthopoulos’ biggest offseason miss?

Alex Anthopoulos’ recent track record has come into question of late, which is more than fair. Sending off top prospects and the best catcher in baseball (William Contreras) for Sean Murphy is looking like a real head-scratcher. The Jarred Kelenic trade was also a huge miss, and the signing of Jurickson Profar looks even worse after he was suspended for PEDs.

However, depending on how Profar performs after he returns from his suspension, he might not even be Alex Anthopoulos’ biggest miss of this past offseason. That title could belong to Griffin Canning, who is helping lead the top rotation in baseball right now for the Braves’ most-hated rivals in New York.

Canning is currently sporting a 5-1 record for the Mets over his first eight starts, and his 2.36 ERA is good for the 12th-best mark among starting pitchers. His 3.49 FIP does suggest regression will come inevitably, but it shouldn’t be too severe, and even if it does, he’s making just $4.25 million on a one-year deal. This is one of the better bargains in baseball, and the Braves could have had him at essentially the same price without having to compete for his services in free agency.

Back in late October, the Braves made their first significant move of the offseason, sending Jorge Soler to the Angels in exchange for Griffin Canning. The trade was mostly about shedding salary: Soler still had $32 million left on his contract that the Braves didn’t want to pay, but Canning was viewed as a potential option at the back of the rotation.

However, when the time came for the Braves to tender contracts to their arbitration eligible candidates, they chose to non-tender Griffin Canning, who was projected to earn around $5.5 million in 2025.

That’s pennies for any competent major-league starting pitcher. Let alone one that ranks 12th in the league in ERA through the first quarter of the season, and to make matters worse, Canning ended up signing with the Mets, who currently sit comfortably atop the NL East.

Of course, pitching has not been the Braves’ primary issue. For the most part, it’s been the offense that’s let them down, and Griffin Canning is unlikely to keep up this pace for the entire season, but no general manager should pass up high quality starting pitching depth that only costs $5-6 million. Alex Anthopoulos did, and Mets GM David Stearns is reaping the rewards.