When the Mets signed Clay Holmes to a three-year, $38 million contract during the offseason it was with the idea that he could potentially translate from the reliever he had been for basically his entire career into a starting pitcher.
So that’s what both sides sought to do in spring training.
Regardless of what New York saw in Holmes that suggested he could make the jump into the starting rotation, what the right-hander has done for the Mets throughout camp has probably shocked even them to a degree. That’s because Holmes has been nothing short of brilliant in his first endeavor at becoming a starter since 2018 when he made four starts for the Pittsburgh Pirates in his debut season.
The 31-year-old’s mastery was on full display once again on Friday afternoon in a 3-2 win over the St. Louis Cardinals in what was his final tune-up of the spring before taking the ball on Opening Day. In 5.1 innings, his longest outing so far, Holmes allowed no runs on two hits, and three walks and struck out eight on 88 pitches (53 strikes).
It marked the culmination of New York’s plan to stretch out the big right-hander this spring which began with three perfect innings in the Mets’ spring opener against the Houston Astros on Feb. 22.
“It doesn’t feel like things are really ending for me, I feel like it’s just another part of the process,” Holmes said. “But I feel like the plan we had in place from the get-go was right on track and we wanted to get to 90 pitches by the end of spring and we’re here.
“I think it’s just a testament to having some very thoughtful and intentional plans going into this and it’s nice to kind of see it come to fruition and being in such a good spot right now. Really just having a good foundation set for the season and looking forward to keep building on this.”
With Sean Manaea getting injured at the start of spring training and Kodai Senga coming off an injury-plagued season, Holmes made what could have been a difficult decision easy for the Mets with his performances on the mound, forcing manager Carlos Mendoza‘s hand to name him the Game 1 starter.
And while making him a starter was certainly part of New York’s plan, naming him the team’s Opening Day starter was a pleasant surprise, especially for Holmes who didn’t necessarily have any intentions of transitioning from a reliever to a starting pitcher in the big leagues.
“I’m excited, I mean Opening Day is a special day,” he said. “It’s a long offseason and this is a day you’re kind of working towards and for it to be here it feels special. And to be able to have the Mets uniform on and really compete and be on the field with the guys in this locker room is gonna be special.
“You can see there’s a lot of people in here that really care and that have worked really hard to put themselves in position to be the best player they can and the best team we can and we know the opportunity we have in front of us and we’re looking forward to attacking it from day one.”
There will surely be a learning curve at some point in the season or a few bumps along the way, but Holmes has done everything the Mets have asked of him and has handled it with aplomb.
Even on Friday, Holmes discussed how different it feels to pitch five-plus innings rather than the one or two innings he was accustomed to. “Six ups just feels long, it feels like you’re pitching forever out there,” he said with a chuckle.
He added, “I think that’s just a mental thing.”
In five Grapefruit League starts the right-hander finished with a 0.93 ERA (0.78 WHIP) to go along with 23 strikeouts in 19.1 innings, consistently dominating hitters and pitching like the ace on the team.
“It’s not something I was necessarily striving for, but it just kind of organically came about,” Holmes said about his journey to becoming a starter. And I think for me I’m a learner, I’m curious, I’m always thinking and sometimes life takes an uncertain route and you just roll with it. I think it’s meant to be.
Even though it’s not something Holmes necessarily sought after, getting a taste of being a front-line starter has him as eager as he’s ever been in his career to continue to improve.
“I’m excited, I think I’m in a great spot and I haven’t been this excited just to attack a season, attack the next day in a while so I think it’s kind of just giving me something to look forward to and I think it’s gonna be a fun year ahead,” he said.
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