The New York Mets signed righthanded pitcher Griffin Canning to a one-year, $4.25 million deal on Wednesday. Canning made 31 starts with the Los Angeles Angels last season, earning a 6-13 record and 5.19 ERA.

Beyond the obviously titanic $765 million contract the Mets gave slugging outfielder Juan Soto, most of the team’s moves this off-season have been nuanced depth moves. Canning is expected to serve as a spot-starter in New York. He is the typical sort of project favored by Mets General Manager David Stearns, who signed struggling starters Sean Manaea and Luis Severino to short-term deals and reaped significant benefits last season.

Canning is coming off a rough year with the Los Angeles Angels, but it was also his first full season in an injury-riddled career. In his previous four years with Los Angeles, he had only surpassed 100 innings in a season once, and has gradually become more durable as he has advanced in the league. 

If Canning can improve and develop with coaching in New York, he may have a prime opportunity to earn starts in the rotation. The team is still expected to sign a premier starter, but the names currently ahead of Canning do not form an awe-inspiring unit on paper. 

Kodai Senga, David Peterson and new righthander Frankie Montas form a solid trio, but the picture from there is unclear. Longtime Yankees closer Clay Holmes is reportedly slotted as the fourth starter for now. Beyond him, Paul Blackburn, Tylor Megill and Jose Butto will likely vie for time on the mound in spring training. Canning could easily join that race if he can take a step forward on his West Coast form.

With several months remaining in the off-season, the Mets still have a lot of moving pieces to either secure or replace. The team is reportedly in contact with Manaea, the resurgent ace last season, and Pete Alonso, the slugger who could blaze a devastating trail in a lineup with Soto. Signing Soto was a massive win for the front office, but there are still big moves that need to be made before the team can gain any direction in 2025.

To complete a dominant three-game sweep, the New York Mets defeated the Washington Nationals 10-0 Wednesday night to maintain a two-game lead for the last Wild Card spot. With three competitive series to end the regular season, earning a sweep against Washington may make the difference going into October.

After a walkoff 2-1 victory in extra innings Monday, the Mets didn’t waste any more time competing with the Nationals. New York won the next two games over Washington by a 20-1 combined score.

In the win Wednesday, the team scored nine runs in the fourth inning alone, and young prospect Luisangel Acuña hit his second MLB home run later on to punctuate the blowout. Acuña has stepped in for star shortstop Francisco Lindor and performed extremely well, maintaining much-needed momentum for a Mets team missing its leader.

With an 84-68 record and 10 games remaining, the Mets technically hold the second Wild Card spot because of a head-to-head tiebreaker over the Diamondbacks. Both teams are two games ahead of the Braves, who sputtered this week in games against the Dodgers and Reds. The Padres currently hold the first Wild Card spot by another 2.5 games.

After months of clawing their way through the National League, the Mets are finally in a relatively comfortable position. The season is far from over, however. After a four-game series with the Phillies, current leaders in the N.L. East, they will take on the Braves head-to-head in a three-game set that will likely determine the season. Not only are the two teams currently neck-and-neck in the Wild Card race, but they have also split 10 games this season, meaning that the final series will determine a very valuable head-to-head tiebreaker.

After seven games against division rivals, the Mets play the Brewers, leaders in the N.L. Central, in three games to end the season. Milwaukee has already clinched its division but could still pose problems to a Mets team that may be desperately clinging to a postseason berth by then — or fighting for some way back in.

The Mets’ turnaround this season has been the subject of extensive media attention in recent months. While the team’s offensive exploits and Lindor’s MVP campaign have been centerfold stories, however, less has been made of dramatic improvements in their rotation. All five of the team’s starting pitchers have become lights-out hurlers out of nowhere.

New York acquired Sean Manaea in the hopes that he could be a serviceable starter behind ace Kodai Senga. With the Japanese All-Star sidelined, Manaea surprisingly took the ace role himself, adopting new throwing mechanics and finding consistent success. Right behind him, one-year signee Luis Severino has revived his career after a dreadful 2023 season with the Yankees, improving his ERA from 6.65 to 3.77.

For most of this season, Manaea and Severino have been the only reliable arms, but that has changed recently. In Jose Quintana’s last five starts, he has earned a mind-boggling 0.28 ERA, throwing at least six scoreless innings in four of those outings.

David Peterson, notorious for injuries and rocky performances, has been phenomenal since early August, allowing two or less runs in eight of his last nine starts. Against all reason, he has a 9-2 record and 2.85 ERA this year. Even Tylor Megill, New York’s erratic fifth starter, has been steady since returning from injury in last August.

The Mets played the Phillies in Philadelphia last week, and though they competed well, they dropped the last two games by blowing early leads. With the Braves playing the Marlins this weekend, New York will almost certainly have to take a few games from Philadelphia to stay ahead. The more games the team wins now, the more they can afford to give as the series with Atlanta approaches.