NEW YORK (AP) — After spending six years in the bullpen, Clay Holmes is confident he can become an effective starting pitcher and he's excited about the change.
He also was optimistic his move across town to the New York Mets might even send a positive signal to a certain superstar teammate: slugger Juan Soto.
Holmes agreed to a $38 million, three-year contract with the Mets this month, two days before Soto also left the American League champion New York Yankees for a record $765 million, 15-year deal with their crosstown rivals. Both free agent signings were finalized last week.
“Deep down, I can't lie," Holmes said Tuesday on a Zoom call with reporters. "I mean, I obviously made my decision because I think it's the best place. But hopefully, you know, I was like, maybe Juan sees this and sees that the water's fine and will follow me over here. So, I'm super pumped for it.”
A two-time All-Star as the Yankees' closer, Holmes was a starter in the minors and said the idea of switching back has always been in the back of his mind. He was even “somewhat excited” back in 2020 about the prospect of possibly starting for a team overseas.
As a reliever, the right-hander relied heavily on a nasty sinker that averaged 96.6 mph last season. He threw it 56% of the time, along with 23% sliders and 21% sweepers, and that repertoire helped produce a 68.6% groundball rate over the past three years that was the best in the majors.
Those numbers are a big reason Holmes profiles as a pitcher who could potentially work deep into games, quieting hitters from both sides of the plate.
But he also practiced a changeup and four-seam fastball to keep things fun during bullpen sessions this year with Yankees assistant pitching coach Desi Druschel, hired by the Mets this offseason to serve in the same role.
“I think just, there's some room there for an arsenal that's kind of tough to do as a reliever,” Holmes said. “You have a very limited window and pitches you can keep sharp, and you kind of have to rely on your strengths a lot more. But I do think I have the depth, the arsenal to be a little more unpredictable than just relying on my sinker all the time. And I think starting gives me the best opportunity to do that and expose it. So, I'm excited to see what this could bring, the changeup and the four-seam.”
Holmes made 114 starts in the minor leagues, but his only four in the majors came as a rookie with Pittsburgh in 2018.
Once he became a free agent this fall, Holmes said he met with clubs that expressed an interest in him as a starter and he didn't want to look back on his career and regret never trying it again. He said he had no such discussions with the Yankees.
He's happy about staying in New York and thinks the Mets are a good fit as he makes the move because of the pitching infrastructure they have in place under president of baseball operations David Stearns — including Druschel, pitching coach Jeremy Hefner and manager Carlos Mendoza, the Yankees' bench coach during much of Holmes' time in pinstripes.
Stearns and Mendoza helped the Mets make a surprising run to the National League Championship Series last season, their first with the team.
“I think the culture here they've created is something that I think people want to be a part of. There's a real momentum here,” Holmes said. “It just gave me a lot of confidence. This is definitely not going to be a transition that just happens, (that) I can do by myself. And so, surrounding myself with people that I felt really good about was important.”
Holmes, who turns 32 in March, has a $12 million player option for 2027 with no buyout. He said he wants to throw 160 innings next season and he's glad the Mets aren't putting any predetermined limits on his workload.
He joins a rotation projected to include Kodai Senga, David Peterson, Frankie Montas and Paul Blackburn, with other candidates such as Tylor Megill in the mix.
Holmes said he'll probably need to make some adjustments to his conditioning but he feels fortunate to be working out this offseason with All-Star lefty Garrett Crochet, recently traded from the Chicago White Sox to the Boston Red Sox.
Crochet is one of several former relievers around the majors who have been very successful in converting to a starting role over the past few years, including San Diego’s Michael King, Atlanta's Reynaldo López and Kansas City’s Seth Lugo.
Holmes said he can't wait to pick King's brain — the two were teammates with the Yankees before King was shipped to the Padres in the December 2023 trade that put Soto in pinstripes for one season.
“There's kind of somewhat of a little road map. You see how guys do it. It's not super common, but you don't feel like you're in uncharted waters,” Holmes said. “I'm excited to take this on.”
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/mlb
Mike Fitzpatrick, The Associated Press
