Mets lose starting pitcher Clay Holmes 'for long time'

New York Mets pitcher Clay Holmes (35) delivers a pitch during the third inning against the New York Yankees at Citi Field. Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Mets lose starting pitcher Clay Holmes 'for long time'

By Adam Gretz | Last updated May 16, 2026 8:57 AM ET

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Things keep going from bad to worse for the New York Mets. Not only did they lose to their crosstown rivals, the New York Yankees, by a 5-2 margin on Friday night, but they also lost one of their most important players to a long-term injury.

Clay Holmes fractures fibula in Mets loss

Clay Holmes, the Mets' best starting pitcher this season, suffered a major leg injury on Friday night after he was struck in the leg by a 111 mph Spencer Jones line drive in the top of the fourth inning.

Manager Carlos Mendoza said after the game that Holmes suffered a fractured fibula on the play and that he is going to be out for "a long time."

Holmes actually stayed in the game after that and pitched another inning before exiting the game.

He went 4.1 innings, allowing seven hits, four earned runs, walking two and striking out eight batters.

Carlos Mendoza announces that Clay Holmes has a fractured fibula and will be down for "a long time" pic.twitter.com/H5wS3dRIak
— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) May 16, 2026

There is no way to overstate how significant this is for the Mets and their season.

He has not only been one of their most effective starting pitchers since signing with the team in free agency a year ago, but he has also been one of the best starting pitchers in baseball through the first month-and-a-half of the 2026 season.

Entering Friday's game, he had a 214 ERA+ (a 100 mark is league average), while the Mets were 5-3 in his eight starts (which means they were 13-22 in the games he did not start).

The Mets are already falling behind in the National League East race, and it's not too early to start being concerned about that. Especially since they are now looking at the possibility of being without their best pitcher for at least a couple of months. If not longer.

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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