Could the Yankees reconsider their previous interest in Griffin Canning?

Last offseason the Yankees displayed some interest in acquiring RHP Griffin Canning as Aaron Boone noted during the Mets’ visit to the Bronx in May.

Will Sammon of The Athletic reported that he threw for teams this past Friday as the right-hander was up to 93 MPH, and while there’s nothing suggesting the Yankees were or were not present for it, I think they should check-in.

A viable depth starter who filled in nicely for the New York Mets during the early parts of the 2026 season, Canning could be a nice insurance policy for this rotation that could slot well into a bullpen role.

His fastball-slider-changeup mix is a simple-yet-effective one, and the Yankees could get a solid spot-starter for cheap who can eat some innings and help them get through this part of the season where Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodon are out.

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Is Griffin Canning a Depth Piece Worth Looking At For the Yankees?

With the Yankees still looking for potential pitching upgrades, Griffin Canning would be an interesting fit depending on his price tag and what role he’s looking to sign for.

Brian Cashman would not be able to promise Canning and his camp an assurred spot in their rotation given their depth chart which includes Max Fried, Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon, Cam Schlittler, Will Warren, Luis Gil, and Ryan Weathers.

Prospects such as Elmer Rodriguez are also capable of putting pressure on some of their backend starters if they underperform and he looks as sharp as he did last MiLB season.

Ryan Yarbrough and Paul Blackburn are their current depth starters, but you can never have too much pitching, right?

Griffin Canning has a very north-south pitch mix, relying on his four-seamer, changeup, and gyro slider, which keeps him from having stark platoon splits.

His cutter and curveball didn’t get much usage but they’re solid pitches to mix-in just to keep hitters off-balance, as the Mets did a lot to help Canning’s slider shape improve and keep hitters off the fastball.

The Yankees could do some more work with the mix to maybe add something that runs into righties, but you wouldn’t mistaken Griffin Canning for an elite frontline starter.

He’s a depth piece who would make sense if he’s willing to accept a similar role to the one he had with the Mets where he didn’t have a spot in the rotation guaranteed.

A deterrent for the Yankees here is the fact that he would all-but-certainly sign a guaranteed MLB deal, which means their healthy staff would leave Tampa with three depth starters occupying their eight bullpen spots.