Clay Holmes Struggles As Workload Becomes Concern

We’ve reached the trade deadline, and unfortunately, the Mets are ringing it in on the heels of three straight losses, capped off by a sweep in San Diego on Wednesday afternoon. But Wednesday wasn’t all bad.

While the team struggled on the field, the front office was busy off of it, pulling off two massive deals that have transformed the Mets bullpen into one of the best in the league, at least on paper, and it could get even better.

Clay Holmes, who got the start Wednesday, could potentially add to that revamped bullpen.

Holmes took the loss after allowing four runs, though only two were earned. The other two came on a home run that followed a Francisco Lindor throwing error. All four runs scored after the Padres had two outs and none on in the inning. Still, there are questions raised as the Mets approach a critical point in the season.

Holmes has thrown 117.1 innings so far this year, a career high at the Major League level. Up until this season, Holmes had never been a full-time starter. His first six years in the bigs were spent as a reliever, and his previous season-high in innings was 70 back in 2021, split between two teams.

In fact, Holmes hasn’t thrown this many innings since 2017 in Triple-A, when he logged 112.1. His professional career high remains 136 innings, set all the way back in 2016. It’s safe to say he’s nearing his limit.

That’s not to say his time as a starter hasn’t been impressive. He’s posted a 3.45 ERA and a 9-6 record in the rotation this season, but if the Mets land another starter at the deadline, it’s likely Holmes will have to scale back his workload. A move back to the bullpen would be helpful to both him and the team.

Holmes’ career numbers as a reliever are better than his starting line. He’s thrown 322 innings out of the bullpen in his career, posting a 3.52 ERA.

A potential move to the bullpen has not been confirmed by the team. In fact, Holmes stated the team hasn’t yet communicated any transition out of the starting role.

If he joins a group that already includes Ryne Stanek, Reed Garrett, Brooks Raley, Gregory Soto, Tyler Rogers, Ryan Helsley, and Edwin Díaz, the Mets could have one of the deepest bullpens in baseball.

We’ll see what happens today, but don’t be surprised if Holmes ends up making his biggest impact in the latter half of games, now that we’ve entered the latter half of the season.

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