Yankees’ Clay Holmes warming up before Saturday bullpen session
Clay Holmes warms up before a bullpen session, Feb. 18, at Yankees camp in Tampa, Fla.
Pete Caldera, NorthJersey.com
The Mets will take a unique approach to fill one of the vacancies in their starting rotation.
According to multiple reports, the Mets and right-handed reliever Clay Holmes are in agreement on a contract, pending a physical. The deal is for three years at a total of $38 million per ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
Holmes, who spent the majority of the last three seasons as the Yankees’ closer, will be counted on to turn back the clock and step into a starting role for the first time since his rookie season with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2018.
The New York Post’s Joel Sherman was the first to report the agreement.
Holmes, 31, was a key member of the Yankees bullpen since coming over from the Pirates during the 2021 season. He stepped into a closer’s role in 2022 one season following a strong debut in the Yankees bullpen. He recorded a career-high 30 saves in 2024 despite being moved from the closer role in favor of Luke Weaver down the stretch.
In the last three seasons with the Yankees, Holmes recorded 74 total saves while striking out 204 in 189⅔ innings with a 2.89 ERA and 1.17 WHIP. He earned All-Star selections in the 2022 and 2024 seasons.
After being drafted by the Pirates in the ninth round of the 2011 MLB Draft, he spent part of six seasons in the Pirates’ system as a starting pitcher, tossing as many as 136⅓ innings in 2016 for Double-A Altoona.
Holmes has made four major-league starts in his career — all during his rookie season in 2018 — posting a 1-2 record with 13 earned runs allowed and 12 strikeouts in 15 innings. Since shifting to the bullpen, Holmes has chiseled his repertoire from six pitches down to three.
While relying on his sinker, which sat around 96.6 mph in 2024, Holmes has been one of the most consistent ground-ball pitchers in baseball. Last season, Holmes’ 64.6 percent ground-ball rate was the second-best in MLB among pitchers with at least 250 plate appearances. He also mixes in a slider and sinker.
Holmes lost his Yankee closer job after blowing 10 saves between June 13 and Sept. 18 as his ERA swelled from 1.23 to 3.36.
Now, he steps into a rotation that is headed by Kodai Senga and David Peterson. The Mets front office also has hopes that recent signee Frankie Montas can regain some of his past form, while now shifting Clay Holmes into a role he has not occupied in more than six years.
It is a transition that worked for former Met Seth Lugo, who broke in as a starter for the team in 2016 before settling into a leverage role out of the bullpen. Lugo signed as a starting pitcher with the Padres in 2023 and finished second in American League Cy Young voting in 2024 after going 16-9 with a 3.00 ERA and 181 strikeouts in 206⅔ innings with the Royals.
