Inside The Mets

Clay Holmes showing promise amid Mets' rotation injuries

After two spring training starts, New York Mets pitcher Clay Holmes has shown that the transition from reliever to starter may be no problem at all.

Troy Brock

Feb 27, 2025; Port St. Lucie, Florida, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Clay Holmes (35) delivers a pitch against the Houston Astros during the first inning at Clover Park.
Feb 27, 2025; Port St. Lucie, Florida, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Clay Holmes (35) delivers a pitch against the Houston Astros during the first inning at Clover Park. / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
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The New York Mets' plan was always to transition Clay Holmes from a reliever to a starter. With the injuries in the rotation mounting, a successful transition is now even more paramount.

This is not the first time in his career that Holmes has started games. In 2018, his first year in Major League Baseball, the righty made four starts with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He only made it through 15 innings in those starts while allowing 14 runs, 13 of them earned.

Those days are long gone for the veteran now, having spent the last six years of his career as a full-time reliever. The last three came with the New York Yankees and saw Holmes pick up all of his 74 career saves.

Many were skeptical of Holmes transitioning to a starter. It has been done before, even as recently as 2024 with both Michael King and Garrett Crochet having successful role changes. However, there is still always the risk of it not working out, and it completely destroying a pitcher's confidence.

Holmes added two more pitches to his repertoire this season, a changeup and a cutter, to compliment his sinker, slider, sweeper, and four-seam fastball. The pitches are not entirely new to the veteran, as they were a part of his pitch mix earlier in his career. He has thrown the two new offerings a combined 19 times this spring, generating three whiffs and four called strikes.

It is still early, but to this point, Holmes has stepped up in a big way for the Mets when they have needed him the most. An already questionable starting rotation is now missing both Sean Manaea (oblique) and Frankie Montas (lat), who were gearing up to serve as two of the top three in the rotation.

Read more: Do the New York Mets have enough starting pitching depth?

With two starters on the injured list, workload does become a concern for the Mets rotation. Holmes threw 75 innings in 2024 (including postseason), so it is unlikely he'll qualify for the ERA title this year. But if he could still reach 130 innings in the coming regular season, it would be a tremendous boon for the Mets pitching staff as a whole.

The early returns from Clay Holmes transitioning to a starter from a reliever have been more than promising. And for the Mets and the state of their rotation right now, he has been more than they could have ever hoped for.

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Troy Brock
TROY BROCK

Troy Brock is an up and comer in the sports journalism landscape. After starting on Medium, he quickly made his way to online publications Last Word on Sports and Athlon before bringing his work to the esteemed Sports Illustrated. You can find Troy on Twitter/X @TroyBBaseball

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