On March 9, New York Mets starting pitcher Clay Holmes threw 3.2 scoreless innings that included conceding just one hit and three walks while also striking out three.
This is yet another successful spring training outing for the former New York Yankees closer. In fact, Holmes has yet to allow a single run and recorded 13 strikeouts in 9.2 innings thrown over his three spring training starts.
9.2 scoreless innings to start the spring for Clay Holmes 💪 pic.twitter.com/SPwUwwVsZi
— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) March 9, 2025
The Mets’ decision to sign Holmes to a three-year, $38 million deal this offseason and then turning him into a starting pitcher after not being used as a starter in MLB since 2018 raised many eyebrows around the league. However, this decision now seems ingenious; especially after Holmes’ rotation mates Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas suffered injuries earlier in spring training.
And it’s for this reason that Bleacher Report’s Zachary D. Rymer deemed Holmes the Mets’ “biggest X-factor” heading into the 2025 season in a March 9 article.
Read more: Has this ‘wild’ Mets offseason decision already backfired?
“Holmes as a starting pitcher is nothing if not a fun idea, and his expanded repertoire and sizzling spring training performance bode well for him pulling off the transition,” Rymer wrote.
“Yet because of injuries to Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas and Kodai Senga’s own injury history, a successful transition for Holmes is suddenly more necessity than luxury. Suffice it to say that if it does happen, the Mets need to immediately raise pitching coach Jeremy Hefner’s salary so he stays happy.”
EVERY MLB team's biggest X-factor heading into the 2025 season ❌ @zachrymer https://t.co/eZbtUoHWY9 pic.twitter.com/P9KS3PBNUQ
— B/R Walk-Off (@BRWalkoff) March 11, 2025
After an excellent start to the 2024 campaign, Holmes’ production diminished significantly in the season’s second half. Even if Montas and Manaea are back healthy by the summer, New York can ill-afford something similar from Holmes this season.
