The New York Mets are dealing with a depleted rotation heading into the 2025 season.

Newly-signed Frankie Montas will most likely make his team debut in June after suffering a high-grade lat strain in his right pitching shoulder. Montas, who inked a two-year, $34 million deal, has spent time on the injured list the last three seasons, including missing most of 2023 after undergoing shoulder surgery.

Sean Manaea, who emerged as one of the Mets’ best starters in 2024 and re-upped with the franchise on a three-year, $75 million contract, is beginning to throw again after suffering an oblique injury during the beginning of spring training. Manaea won’t be ready to start the season, but the Mets believe he should be back in mid- to late April.

Former All-Star pitcher Kodai Senga, who only made one regular-season start in 2024, has made just one spring training appearance and is still working on his mechanics after suffering tricep, shoulder, and calf injuries last year. Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said he won’t be ready by Opening Day but should be able to make his first turn through the rotation.

With Senga and Manaea unable to start Opening Day, who will the Mets go with? The answer might surprise you.

New York Mets turning to former reliever to make Opening Day start

Mendoza revealed that Clay Holmes, who was an All-Star reliever with the New York Yankees, will be the Mets’ Opening Day starter on the road against the Houston Astros.

“He earned it,” Mendoza told reporters Friday, including The Athletic’s Tim Britton. “We like what we’re seeing. He really put himself in a really good position, showed up here early in camp, he was ahead of everyone.”

Carlos Mendoza announces that Clay Holmes will be the Mets' Opening Day starter:

"He earned it. We like what we're seeing." pic.twitter.com/2FDfGUx8uJ

— SNY (@SNYtv) March 14, 2025

Holmes came over to the Mets as a starter when he signed a three-year, $38 million contract in the offseason. It will be his first big league start since 2018 when he was a rookie with the Pittsburgh Pirates. This will actually be Holmes’ fifth career start.

“I’m definitely honored,” Holmes told The Athletic. “There was a plan in place from the get-go, I believed in it and they believed in me.”

Holmes has been the Mets’ most impressive starting pitcher in spring training. Across 9 2/3 innings in three games, he’s struck out 13, given up just two hits, walked only four, and hasn’t allowed an earned run.