A New York Yankees star has landed the payday of his career by joining the New York Mets. We are not talking about Juan Soto.
Former Yankees star Clay Holmes has agreed to a three-year, $38 million contract with the Mets, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan. The most interesting part about the deal: the Mets reportedly plan to convert Holmes to a starting pitcher.
Holmes has been a mainstay of the Yankees bullpen since the club acquired him from the Pittsburgh Pirates at the 2021 MLB trade deadline. His work there has been mostly impressive, with a 2.69 ERA and 26.6% strikeout rate in 217 2/3 innings across four seasons. He was demoted at midseason in 2024 after a litany of blown saves, but he made up for it with a 2.25 ERA in 13 appearances during New York’s postseason run.
Holmes was a starter during his collegiate career and during his run through the Pirates’ minor league system, before making the switch to reliever as he reached the majors. He made four starts as a rookie, with 300 relief appearances in the six years since.
A return to starting was rumored while Holmes was meeting with teams in free agency, and it will come to pass with the Yankees’ crosstown rival.
Can Clay Holmes make it as a starter for the Mets?
The Holmes decision reflects the fervent market for starting pitching this offseason, and the Mets are hoping they can find a bargain by turning a good reliever into a good starting.
The San Francisco Giants made a similar gambit last offseason when they signed former St. Louis Cardinals closer Jordan Hicks on a four-year, $44 million deal. The move appeared to be working out at midseason — Hicks held a 2.82 ERA in his first 15 starts — but he struggled heavily in July and landed on the IL with shoulder inflammation in August.
There were more successful reliever-to-starter conversions in 2024 with Garrett Crochet and Michael King, both of whom went from primarily working as relievers to an All-Star nod for Crochet and All-MLB second-team honors for King.
In Holmes’ case, he brings some encouraging signs he could find success multiple times through the order. Unlike most relievers, Holmes has three pitches he uses with regularity: a sinker (used 56.3% of the time in 2024 per Baseball Savant), a slider (23%) and sweeper (20.5%). He could still try to add another pitch, but it’s a solid base.
Holmes has also been elite throughout his career in getting groundballs, with a 65% rate in 2024 per Fangraphs. That could help his efficiency as he gets used to throwing upwards of 50 pitches again.
