The Cleveland Guardians actively looked for starting pitching help during the offseason, as you can probably remember.
They lost Alex Cobb and Matthew Boyd, with Shane Bieber nursing a long-term injury.
It took a while, but they netted Luis Ortiz and Slade Cecconi in separate trades.
Some say it wasn’t enough, but those are the starting pitchers they added to the roster during the winter.
As it turns out, they were also, reportedly, interested in one of the pitching stars of the 2025 campaign: New York Mets’ Griffin Canning.
“Cleveland was interested this off-season. Not sure how close it got. Once they acquired Ortiz/Cecconi I think there was less push. Ortiz is a better long term solution. But I also didn’t see Canning taking this much of a leap this early,” Guardians reporter Justin Lada posted on X.
Cleveland was interested this off-season. Not sure how close it got. Once they acquired Ortiz/Cecconi I think there was less push. Ortiz is a better long term solution. But I also didn't see Canning taking this much of a leap this early https://t.co/IYULUD9Mfv
— Justin L. (jlbaseball on bluesky) (@JL_Baseball) May 17, 2025
Canning led the American League in earned runs allowed last year, with 99.
Of course, he was wearing the Los Angeles Angels’ uniform.
You don’t need to be a baseball expert to realize that the Angels aren’t exactly player development wizards.
The Mets believed in the talent and not in the 5.19 ERA and signed Canning to a one-year, $4.25 million deal.
That’s something that Cleveland probably could have done, but per Lada, the fact that they went out and traded for two starters made acquiring Canning less of an urgency.
After limiting the New York Yankees to two runs in 5.1 innings on Saturday, Canning is currently boasting a 2.47 ERA with the Mets in 47.1 frames.
He altered his pitching philosophy, using his excellent breaking balls early in the count and finishing with his fastball more often than not.
Maybe the Guardians could have cracked the code, too, or maybe not.
What we know is that Canning would probably be the staff ace in Cleveland right now.
NEXT: Guardians Top Prospect Dealing With Concerning Injury
