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David Mundee ATLANTA - With three-fourths of the Major League Baseball season complete, former Slocomb High standout Clay Holmes feels he has made a “smooth” transition back as a starting pitcher . Holmes, in his first year with the New York Mets, returned to starting on the mound after six seasons as a relief pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Yankees.
He began his pro career as a starting pitcher for Pittsburgh as a mid-season call-up in 2017. He also started the majority of his games in the minor leagues. Following a Saturday night win in a 6 1/3 inning performance in Atlanta, Holmes has an 11-6 record, a 3.60 earned run average, 109 strikeouts and a 1.32 WHIP over 137 1/3 innings and 26 starts. The wins are the most on the Mets staff. “It has been good,” Holmes said during a Sunday morning interview with the Dothan Eagle in the Mets clubhouse at Atlanta’s Truist Park. “Obviously taking on a new challenge with a new role this year, but overall, it has been what I hoped for it to be. People are also reading… "I think the transition with a lot of help here has been smooth so far. I am enjoying the challenge of starting again and all the things that come with it. It has been a fun challenge.”The 2011 Slocomb High graduate, after amassing 74 saves in a closer’s role in his six relief years and earning all-star spots in 2022 and 2024, made the move to starting pitcher during the offseason as he was entertaining free agency offers. “There were a few teams that wanted me as a starter and a few that wanted me as a reliever,” Holmes said. “I had to decide which direction I wanted to go, and I decided that the starting route was where I wanted to go this year.”“It is rare to get an opportunity to go back,” Holmes said. “It doesn’t happen often, so when the opportunity presented itself, I knew it was a special opportunity. I thought I had it in me – and had a belief that I could do it.” The 32-year-old Holmes also changed uniforms, moving 10 miles from the Bronx borough of Yankee Stadium with the New York Yankees to the Queens borough of Citi Field and the New York Mets. He signed a three-year deal for a reported $38 million.In switching back to a starter, Holmes had to prepare differently in the offseason, especially in conditioning and building his arm back up. His start was a little later than normal after the Yankees’ World Series loss to the Los Angels Dodgers. “I knew I didn’t have much time to take time off from throwing, so I kept my throwing going and focused on getting my body back to normal ,” Holmes said. “I started out probably more conditioning toward January, February and spring training, developing more of an endurance aspect. “It was more of an earlier build up process than I was used to as a reliever. In spring training, I was up to six innings whereas as a reliever I was maybe one or two innings. The whole throwing process started sooner to build innings.” The games this season have also been different for him. As a reliever, he relied mostly on his sinker. Though he still uses it a lot , he has utilized six pitches this season, including three others between 11 and 19 percent. He also sees a particular hitter more than once as he did in relief. “For me, it was trusting my whole arsenal,” Holmes said. “I added two new pitches and I am throwing the four seam more. The cutter and change-up are new. As a reliever, I had one really good pitch that I would lean on and trust and mix in the slider when I needed to. “As a starter, I have to trust the whole arsenal and throw to different areas in the zone as I am facing hitters two-three times a game.”In his first 17 starts through July 2, he was more than successful, fashioning a 2.99 earned run average and an 8-4 record. Listen now and subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS Feed | SoundStack | All Of Our Podcasts “I added a few new pitches, so I wouldn’t say it was element of surprise, but I was pitching a little bit different than in the past and I was fresh and I was feeling pretty good,” Holmes said. “All those things combined to help me.”Holmes, whose 137 1/3 innings is almost double what his previous high was, then hit a rough patch in July and early August with an earned run average of 4.50 over seven starts. Included were two outings where he lasted only 3 2/3 innings, both season lows. “Like any season, you kind of hit a point, even as a reliever, where the workload starts to build and you start to feel it and you have to learn how to adapt,” Holmes said. “It is a normal process.”“The hitters make adjustments and you have to make adjustments back,” Holmes said. “It is the ebb and flow of a 162-game season.”He, in turn, made recent adjustments, leading to quality starts in his last two games. A week ago Sunday, he allowed just one run and five hits over five innings against Seattle. On Saturday in Atlanta, he worked 6 1/3 innings, his second longest outing of the season, and allowed only three hits and two runs, while striking out four and walking two. “Going back to what I was doing at the beginning of the year, just using the whole arsenal,” Holmes said of the performance in the two recent victories. “I was getting to the point where I was reverting back to maybe too sinker heavy. So, ‘Hey, let’s use the rest of the arsenal, let’s use the four-seem, let’s use the sweeper.’ I have been attacking the zone with the majority of my pitches these last two outings. That is typically when I am at my best.”Overall, New York manager Carlos Mendoza has been pleased with the performances from the 6-foot-5, 245-pound Holmes during the season. “He has been huge,” Mendoza said to the Dothan Eagle before Sunday’s game. “You have to give him credit. He spent the whole offseason preparing for this role. It was something he did in the minor leagues. Physically, he is very strong. “I think the adjustment has been navigating the lineup the third time through and trying to go deep in games with a completely different pitch package. Out of the bullpen, this guy was used to facing a lot of right-hander hitters and was more of a sinker and sweeper pitcher. He added the new pitches in the offseason and is now pitching. “We have seen him make some good adjustments against lineups that are making adjustments to him. As far as his preparation, the way he recovers, the way he takes all the information, he has been outstanding for us.”Holmes’ performance against Seattle on Aug. 17 came in Major League Baseball’s annual Little League Classic in Williamsport, Penn. It was the eighth Classic overall and Holmes has the rare distinction of pitching in three, also going with Pittsburgh in 2019 and the Yankees last year. “It’s cool,” Holmes said. “It’s always special event. The kids get to meet players they look up to and inspire to be. The guys in the big leagues look back and see the excitement and see the joy the kids have."With only five weeks and 32 games left in the season, Holmes says he has “a second wind” for the stretch run, fueled by his two latest performances and the Mets’ push to the playoffs. After Sunday's game, New York had a one-and-a-half game lead over Cincinnati for the final wild-card spot. “I feel good physically,” Holmes said. “I feel I have adapted to this new role and this new workload. Right now, I am just taking it outing by outing. “As the playoff picture gets a little clearer and you get here in September, you start to get a second wind. You feel the energy of the baseball season coming to an end and that final push to the end . You start to feel that. It gives players a boost.”David Mundee Follow David Mundee Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today
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