Padres right-handed pitcher griffin canning He is still recovering from a ruptured left Achilles tendon last year and is scheduled to begin the 2026 season on the injured list. He’s already pitching well, but he’s not ready to take his place yet. Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune said a late April return is possible, but May or June is more likely.
Canning suffered the injury while with the Mets last June, but no specific timeline was provided for his recovery. There were many cases where other players suffered similar injuries and were sidelined for about a year. There were reports in January that Canning could be ready ‘around’ opening day, but that may have been a bit optimistic.
Despite the question marks over his health, the Padres felt comfortable offering Canning a major league contract with $2.5 million guaranteed and several potential incentives. He looked pretty sharp for the Mets last year before getting injured. Compared to his time with the Angels, he threw more cutters and sliders, and fewer four-seamers and knuckle curves.
He made 16 starts and pitched 76 1/3 innings, allowing 3.77 earned runs per nine. His 21.3% strikeout rate and 10.7% walk rate were slightly worse than average, but he produced ground balls on 50.9% of balls in play. The numbers were well above average and much better than anything we had done before. Because he’s actually more of a fly ball player with Halos.
The Padres will have to wait for Canning to get healthy first, but they’ll hope he can carry some of that forward into 2026. michael king, Joe Musgrove and Nick Pivetta A solid top three player in the rotation. That leaves at least two open positions to start the year. The Padres also have some openness to a six-man rotation, which would mean jobs for three other starting pitchers.
Matt Waldron He will also begin the season on the IL after recently requiring a procedure to treat hemorrhoids. Yu Darvish He will miss the entire 2026 season due to elbow surgery. Randy Vazquez and Herman Marquez He’s on the roster and is likely the favorite for the final two rotation spots. JP Sears He’s also on the roster, but because he has options, he’ll likely end up being sent to Triple-A. Walker Buehler, Marco Gonzalez and Tristan McKenzie You are in camp as an invitee who is not on the list.
The Opening Day rotation will likely be temporary, with Canning expected to take his place when he returns. The decision on how to make room for caning will depend on the condition and performance of the other arm in the meantime. Waldron was expected to return before Canning, but his return could lead to a difficult decision for the Padres, as he had a 7.71 ERA last year due to being out of options.
Photo credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea, Imagn Images
