Mets sign Clay Holmes as starting pitcher

7:17 p.m.: According to Jeff Passan of ESPN (X-Link), there is an exit option after the second season. Passan confirms that the Mets view Holmes as a starter.

7:15 p.m.; It’s a three-year deal with around $38 million guaranteed, Sherman reports (on X).

7:12 p.m.: The Mets agree with Righty Clay Holmesreports Joel Sherman of the New York Post (X-Link). The deal is still pending. Sherman reported earlier this week that the Mets were considering Holmes as a rotation option. He has been a full-time backup player since his rookie season in 2018.

After three and a half seasons in the Bronx, Holmes travels across the city. Holmes was an inconsistent pitcher for the Pirates between 2018-21. The Yankees were intrigued by his eye-popping groundball stats and acquired him at the 2021 trade deadline. The move didn’t generate much fanfare at the time, but Holmes broke out immediately after donning the pinstripes.

Holmes owned a 4.93 earned run average at the time of the trade and fired 28 innings of 1.61 ERA ball to start his Yankees career. The following season he took over the position of closer from Aaron Boone. Holmes saved 20 games with a 2.54 ERA over 63 2/3 innings to earn his first All-Star nomination in 2022. He was again selected for the Midsummer Classic in a 23 season, where he pitched 63 frames of 2.86 ERA ball, collecting 24 saves.

Holmes had another strong start this year. He did not allow an earned run through 13 1/3 innings through late April. Holmes also had a productive May, although he began to struggle with his command. That was a sign of a somewhat rocky summer. Holmes posted a 3.64 ERA in 30 appearances between early June and late August. Although his production rate wasn’t particularly high, he gave up a lot of leads. In early September, the Yankees replaced him in the ninth inning Luke Weaver. Holmes finished the season in a provider role.

The 6’5″ right-hander finished the regular season with a 3.14 ERA over 67 innings. He struck out about a quarter of the batters he faced, with a league average walk rate of 8.1%. Holmes hit grounders at a typically excellent rate of 65%. It was far from a bad season, but he had a strange tendency to blow leads. While he made a career-best 30 saves, he was penalized for an MLB league-worst 13 missed save opportunities. No other reliever gave up more than eight leads. He entered the postseason on the wrong trend after losing the closing job.

To his credit, Holmes recovered when the lights were brightest. He gave up just three runs in 12 postseason innings. Despite falling behind Weaver in the bullpen hierarchy, he remained one of Boone’s most trusted setup options. Holmes won five holds in October without relinquishing the lead once.

This finish was a more fitting conclusion to his strong performance in the Bronx. While the fan base was at times divided over his reliability, Holmes posted good numbers to the elite level during his tenure as a Yankee. Of the 86 relievers with at least 150 innings over the past three years, Holmes ranks 17th in ERA. While his strikeout rate of 25.7% is middle of the pack, his groundball rate of 68.6% is No. 1 in this group.

There is no doubt that Holmes can be a productive reliever. The Mets believe he can be more than that. They’re giving him a chance at a full-time rotation role for the first time in his MLB career. Holmes has started four major league games, all of which came during his rookie season in Pittsburgh in 2018. Those didn’t go well – he allowed a 7.80 ERA with more walks than strikeouts in 15 innings – but that has little bearing on today’s decision. The Mets aren’t betting stocks on a tiny sample that predated his breakthrough three years.

Like many MLB relievers, Holmes was a starting pitcher in the minors. He’s no stranger to going multiple innings, but it will be a tough test against big league hitters. He will likely need to make an adjustment to his pitch mix. Holmes has essentially given up on his rotation since moving to the bullpen. His 96-97 MPH sinker is his preferred offering, the pitch most responsible for his tremendous grounder rates. Holmes used two different breaking balls – an 87 MPH slider and an 83-84 MPH slider, which Statcast lists as a sweeper.

More will follow.