Mets should be feeling good about key FA signing

New York Mets starting pitcher Clay Holmes. Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Mets should be highly encouraged with spring performance from key FA signing

By Adam Gretz | Last updated Mar 21, 2025 8:36 PM ET

Juan Soto is going to be the most impactful free agent the New York Mets signed this offseason, and he will completely transform their lineup. That should not be a surprise. But pitcher Clay Holmes might have been the Mets' most intriguing offseason addition, and they have to be extremely encouraged with what he did this spring.

Holmes wrapped up his spring training schedule on Friday with a dominant outing that saw him strike out eight batters, allow two hits and zero runs in 5.1 innings of work against the St. Louis Cardinals.

For the spring, he was sensational with a 0.93 ERA that included 23 strikeouts and only seven hits allowed in 19.1 innings of work.

CLAY HOLMES, THE STARTER.

Clay ends his spring with a 0.93 ERA pic.twitter.com/A7tzIx3G4w
— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) March 21, 2025

What makes Holmes so intriguing is that they are basically using him as an experiment this season — and a very important one.

Holmes is being transitioned from a relief pitcher and closer (a role he held with the New York Yankees the past few years) into a full-time starting pitcher for the first time in his career. He has only officially started four games in his career, and all of those came during his rookie season in 2018 when he was used as an opener for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Now the Mets are banking on him to help lead their rotation.

Spring training stats should always be taken with a heavy grain of salt because it is not always the best representation of what is ahead during the regular season. The level of competition is not always consistent, players are working on different things and not always approaching it the way they would a regular season game and the weather conditions (specifically the wind) can inflate numbers. So nobody should be handing Holmes the National League Cy Young Award right now. But the Mets have to at least like seeing him make a good first impression as a starter.

With Soto, Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso and Mark Vientos the Mets lineup is going to have a chance to be really good this season. The pitching staff is going to be the question mark. Holmes is going to be the biggest X-factor out of that entire group.

Adam Gretz

Adam Gretz is a freelance writer based in Pittsburgh. He covers the NHL, NFL, MLB and NBA. Baseball is his favorite sport -- he is nearly halfway through his goal of seeing a game in every MLB ballpark. Catch him on X @AGretz

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