The Mets' Clay Holmes experiment has seemingly run its course

When an experiment doesn't work, it's best to pull the plug. 

That's what the New York Mets should be prepared to do with right-hander Clay Holmes, who has attempted to convert to a starting pitcher for the first time in his MLB career after spending his first eight seasons as a late-inning reliever. 

Holmes, who took the loss in Wednesday's 5-0 Padres shutout of the Mets in San Diego, is now 2-2 with a 4.46 ERA over his last seven starts, a far cry from starting Opening Day and his subsequent 2.90 ERA over the first three months of 2025. And while the 32-year-old's season stats still look respectable on the whole (3.45 ERA in 22 starts), Holmes' WHIP of 1.32 and FIP of 4.15 paint a less favorable picture of his performance.

The veteran righty had never pitched more than 70 innings prior to this season, and it's clear that this year's ramp-up (117.1 innings pitched so far) is fatiguing Holmes. Not even a new 'kick change' pitch he added to his repertoire in spring training with the Mets can seem to stop this downward spiral.

While it was perfectly reasonable to expect growing pains as the Mets gambled on Holmes with a three-year, $38M contract to become a starter last offseason, there was also an unwritten expectation that if the experiment didn't materialize, Holmes would move to the bullpen, where he could once again be deployed as an effective leverage reliever.