Breaking: Angels Player on the move again after…
The Los Angeles Angels sent right-hander Griffin Canning to the Atlanta Braves when they acquired power hitter Jorge Soler, but Canning is already off of the Braves. Canning, along with left-hander Ray Kerr, outfielder Ramón Laureano and right-handers Royber Salinas and Huascar Ynoa, were the players the Braves declined to tender the contracts of for the 2025 season the team announced on Friday.
Canning is now a free agent. There was some thought that he could have been a fit for a Braves’ organization that is known for pitching development, but Canning is instead in search of another team.
The 28-year-old was never able to become a consistent starter over his career with the Angels. A former second-round pick in the 2017 MLB Draft by the Angels, Canning made his MLB debut less than two years after he was drafted in April 2019. As a rookie, Canning went 5-6 with a 4.58 ERA and 96 strikeouts over 90.1 innings.
Canning did record his best season in 2020, when he went 2-3 with a career-low 3.99 ERA and 36 strikeouts over 11 starts. He won a Gold Glove award after making three run saves defensively and only committing one error over the season.
During his last season for the Angels in 2024, Canning did start a career-high 31 games, going 6-13 with a 5.19 ERA and 130 strikeouts. His numbers and velocity both dipped from the 2023 season, and he ranked as one of the worst starters in the American League.
To some extent, Canning’s inconsistencies could be attributed to injury issues. Canning was shut down as a rookie because of elbow inflammation and shut down in 2021 because of a stress fracture in his lower back, which also played a part in him missing the entire 2022 season.
Canning has largely been healthy over the last two seasons, and pitched a full season in 2024, but has yet to emerge as a starter a team can truly rely on. The Angels are not known for their pitching development, and an optimistic take would be that Canning could find better success if he stays healthy and lands on a team that can bring up their pitchers better.
