As Juan Soto weighed his options this past offseason, the Yankees had to have two plans of attack.
One was contingent on Soto signing elsewhere in free agency, which is exactly what happened. After the slugger inked a record-setting deal with the crosstown rival Mets, the Yankees pivoted to Max Fried, Devin Williams, Cody Bellinger and Paul Goldschmidt. Fried earned the largest chunk of the money that was allotted for Soto, signing an eight-year, $218 million deal as the Yankees boosted their rotation.
But what if Soto had taken the 16-year, $760 million deal the Yankees offered?
In such a scenario, the pinstripers still would have wanted to add a starter. They just would have done so on a tight budget.
Hence their interest in Griffin Canning, a nugget that Yankees manager Aaron Boone dropped before Game 2 of the Subway Series on Saturday. Boone also said that the Yankees spoke to the 29-year-old righty before he signed a one-year, $4.25 million deal with the Mets.
“If we didn’t end up with Fried and this second group of players, we probably would have gone the Soto-Canning path,” Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake added in an interview with the Daily News.
Canning, scheduled to start Saturday’s game at Yankee Stadium, is working on a career year in Queens, recording a 2.36 ERA over his first eight starts.
A member of the Angels for the first five years of his career, he missed time due to injury and took a 4.78 ERA into this season. However, the Halos aren’t exactly known for their pitching development, and some strong starts against the Yankees had them wondering if Canning had more to offer.
That’s why Boone said he’s “not overly surprised” by Canning’s success this season.
“I think the Mets have done a good job with him of just tightening up the arsenal and kind of optimizing him,” the skipper said. “I feel like he’s flashed some of that over the last few years out in L.A.”
Blake also felt that the Angels were “probably not utilizing him quite to his full potential before.” He saw a hurler with an athletic delivery and “interesting [pitch] shapes” who could be molded.
Now Blake is watching Canning thrive with the Mets, where former Yankees assistant pitching coach Desi Druschel holds the same job.
“You’re seeing it come to fruition,” Blake said. “We probably had similar ideas about what to adjust with [Canning] and really enjoyed the call we had with him.”
COUSINS HURT AGAIN
Jake Cousins, on the injured list with a right elbow flexor strain, is now dealing with a pec issue. Boone said the reliever was shut down from throwing for 4-5 days after experiencing “discomfort” following his last live batting practice session.
“We don’t think it’s anything serious,” Boone said, “but enough to hold him back a few days.”
Cousins did undergo testing. Boone didn’t think there was any concern over Cousins’ shoulder.
STILL NO DATE FOR STANTON
Boone also said that there is still no date for Giancarlo Stanton (tennis elbows) to begin a rehab assignment.
