Mets’ Griffin Canning puts on show vs. Yankees

For 5 ¹/₃ solid innings, Griffin Canning showed he can perform in The Bronx.

The Yankees themselves had been curious about how Canning might look on this stage.

One of the better development stories of the Mets’ early season could have been a Yankees revelation, a fact brought to light on an afternoon the rolling starter let up just a pair of runs in the 3-2 Mets win at Yankee Stadium on Saturday.

Canning was a former top prospect who never reached his ceiling in five seasons with the Angels, then hit free agency as, essentially, a buy-low candidate.

The Yankees were interested, manager Aaron Boone said, likely as part of a Plan A: If Juan Soto stayed and the Yankees had to scrimp elsewhere, they wanted to chat with Canning.

And they did.

“He was a guy we had interest in,” Boone said.

“Just like with the Mets, I just had a Zoom call with them over the offseason, but it was just that one call,” Canning added. “Didn’t hear from them much after that.”

The Mets officially signed the righty on Dec. 19 to a one-year, $4.25 million pact that reflected he was seen more as depth than a rotation certainty.

The bargain was finalized after they already had landed Soto with the largest contract in baseball history and while the Yankees were splurging on non-Soto items such as trading for Cody Bellinger and Devin Williams and signing Max Fried.

Shortly after Canning signed, the Yankees also added Paul Goldschmidt.

The Mets have no regrets, Canning stepping up in the wake of injuries to Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas and pitching like one of the better starters in the sport.

The Yankees do not seem to have regrets on a backup plan that has gone well, and Bellinger launched a game-tying homer off Canning in the sixth inning.

But that blast and another from DJ LeMahieu were the only runs the Yankees scored off their winter interest, whose ERA is a sparkling 2.47 after nine starts (of which his team has won eight).

“I think the Mets have done a good job with him of just tightening up the arsenal and kind of optimizing him,” Boone said.

The Mets’ pitching minds have helped the 29-year-old, who entered this season with a lifetime 4.78 ERA, unlock something in his arsenal.

He has added a cutter, but the bigger difference has come with his pitch sequencing and usage, particularly in throwing more sliders.

The Yankees swung at 12 of those sliders, and they missed seven times as Canning struck out four.

“I’m just pitching,” Canning said. “Changing speeds, mixing the fastball when I need to. Try to go one pitch at a time, stay present in the moment and just kind of focus on competing.”