The New York Mets are out to prove that they were right about Clay Holmes from the start.
Holmes, who will be entering his first big league season as a starter, was given the Opening Day nod by manager Carlos Mendoza on Friday.
With a projected payroll of $332 million for 2025, it’s wild to think that the Mets have no better option to start their first game of the season against the Houston Astros. Entrusting a career reliever with four starts to his name is quite the leap of faith, but it’s also a testament to the strong spring Holmes has had thus far.
Moreover, the Mets are pretty thin at starting pitcher after a rash of spring injuries, which perhaps explains this decision more.
Holmes has undoubtedly pitched well in a small sample, demonstrating a versatile pitch arsenal that, while promising, is still in its early stages. But the results do speak for themselves.
As shown above, Holmes works with a sinker, sweeper, changeup, cutter, four-seam fastball and slider. That’s more than most starters can say they have in their repertoire, even the best ones. Of course, the effectiveness of each of these offerings over a full slate of starts remains to be seen.
Nonetheless, the Mets’ approach to building a starting rotation without a true ace will now be closely examined from day one, as if there wasn’t enough pressure already.
That strategy did pay off in 2024, as New York rode the backs of veteran starters Luis Severino, Sean Manaea and Jose Quintana deep into October. However, we’ll need to see it succeed again in 2025 to believe in what President of Baseball Operations David Stearns is building.
And it all starts with Holmes taking the ball for the Mets in Houston on March 27.
