Inside The Mets

Why Mets' David Stearns thinks Clay Holmes can excel as a starter

New York Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns explained why he likes Clay Holmes' upside as a starter.

John Sparaco

Feb 12, 2025; Port St. Lucie, FL, USA; New York Mets pitcher Clay Holmes (35) pitches during a Spring Training workout at Clover Park. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
Feb 12, 2025; Port St. Lucie, FL, USA; New York Mets pitcher Clay Holmes (35) pitches during a Spring Training workout at Clover Park. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
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Less than 10 days into the 2024 season, the New York Mets were forced to sign veteran Julio Teherán to patch up their injury-depleted rotation. They made addressing their depth a priority this winter—and succeeded.

The Mets entered 2025 spring training with seven major-league starters competing for six rotation spots on Day 1. That number will climb to eight once right-hander Paul Blackburn is fully recovered from offseason back surgery. He is currently hoping to be ready by Opening Day.

Another option that could factor in sometime this year is top prospect Brandon Sproat, who is not yet on the 40-man roster. The Mets do not have to rush his development, thanks to the plethora of veterans ahead of him, including newly signed right-handers Frankie Montas, Griffin Canning, and perhaps most intriguing of all—former two-time All-Star closer Clay Holmes.

Holmes, who turns 32 on Opening Day, joined the Mets on a three-year, $38 million deal (with an opt-out after 2026) with the intention of returning to a starting role. He made four starts with the Pittsburgh Pirates as a rookie in 2018 but spent the following six seasons as a reliever, notching 74 saves and two All-Star nods with the New York Yankees between 2022 and 2024.

The 6-foot-5 righty posted a 2.69 ERA and 1.12 WHIP over three and a half seasons in pinstripes but struggled toward the end of his tenure, losing the closer role and finishing with an MLB-high 13 blown saves in 2024. With other proven starters available on the market, the Mets’ decision to take a chance on Holmes drew mixed reactions.

While appearing on MLB Network on Thursday, Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns explained why Holmes profiles as a starter. Though it is only February, he appeared to be very impressed by what he saw during Holmes’ first live session on the mound in practice.

“He’s developed a changeup that I think has the potential to be a plus pitch. He has the arsenal to get righties out, to get lefties out,” Stearns said. “I think he has the work ethic to be able to build the capacity to turn lineups over multiple times, and he wanted to do it. When you combine all of those things, I think it’s a really good opportunity for him to take the next step in his career.”

Prior to this year, Holmes consistently leaned on a sinker, slider, and sweeper to get outs. His newly developed “kick change,” as Stearns alluded to, drew quite a few swings and misses during his first live mound session of spring training.

The pitch is an evolution of a traditional changeup developed by the pitching lab Tread Athletics, featuring added late horizontal movement and greater depth compared to a standard changeup. It runs between 86 and 88 mph—10 mph slower than his sinker—giving him an advantage against left-handed hitters.

According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, Holmes also drew interest as a starter from the Baltimore Orioles and Boston Red Sox, and even had more money presented to him from teams trying to add him to their bullpen. But ultimately, he chose the Mets in free agency.

In 2024, the Mets showed the ability to bring out the best in pitchers after left-hander Sean Manaea had a career year and Luis Severino’s bounce-back season helped him become the highest-paid player in A’s history. Time will tell if they can catch lightning in a bottle yet again with Holmes.

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John Sparaco
JOHN SPARACO

John Sparaco is a contributing writer for the Mets website On SI. He has previously written for Cold Front Report, Times Union and JKR Baseball, where he profiled some of the top recruits, college players and draft prospects in baseball. You can follow him on Twitter/X: @JohnSparaco

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