Mets, Clay Holmes not looking at a return to the bullpen despite high innings count
Mets starting pitcher Clay Holmes delivers against Atlanta during the first inning at Citi Field on Tuesday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
As Clay Holmes’ first season since transitioning to a full-fledged starting pitcher nears 25 starts, the external questions remain.
Holmes’ 126 innings pitched are double the 63 thrown for the Yankees in each of the previous two seasons. The Mets righthander had never thrown more than 70 innings in a season before this year.
Mets starters had pitched an MLB-low 241 2⁄3 innings since June 11 entering Thursday. Holmes has not completed six innings since June 7.
When asked if Holmes will remain a starter the rest of the season, manager Carlos Mendoza said “he’s going to keep getting opportunities.”
Holmes expects the same.
“That’s the plan so far,” Holmes told Newsday before Thursday night’s 4-3 loss to Atlanta at Citi Field. “The way I’m preparing, it’s really start by start and making sure that I’m in a good spot . . . There’s enough monitoring, and they have their fingers on enough things where if stuff starts to come up, I’m sure there’d be a conversation. But it hasn’t really been there yet.”
Holmes, who signed a three-year, $38 million contract with the Mets in the offseason, has made 24 starts this season. He is 9-6 with a respectable 3.71 ERA, but the last two months tell a different story.
In Holmes’ first 17 starts, he went 8-4 with a 2.99 ERA in 93 1⁄3 innings — an average of 5.48 innings per start.
In his last seven starts, Holmes is 1-2 with a 5.79 ERA in 32 2⁄3 innings — an average of 4.67 innings per start.
Holmes said the innings number is not at “the forefront of my attention.” He has not had a conversation with anyone about a finite innings limit.
“It’s just staying committed to what I’ve known has been working for me this year and that kind of process, and it’s allowed me to stay healthy and feel good throughout,” Holmes said. “I just try to stay locked in on those things. It’s one of those things where you just have to really take care of what you can, and there’s a lot of stuff out there — just the innings limit and all this stuff — that you know it’s there.
“There’s some awareness to it, but it doesn’t really affect how I’m preparing and what I’m capable of this next start. So it’s really staying locked in on the details and what I know has been working and kind of let the rest take care of itself.”
That next start will come Sunday night against the Mariners in the Little League Classic in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
Mendoza and Mets personnel have been keeping track of Holmes’ workload, but not any more than they were earlier in the season.
“The same that we were doing two months ago,” Mendoza said. “Making sure that after every outing, everything — all the tests that they go through in the training room and the weight room — that he continues to check those boxes. And, just in talking to him, he keeps saying he’s fine. The numbers and everything keep telling [us] he’s in a good place. So we will continue to monitor it, but nothing differently.”
Montas’ new duties
Mendoza announced Tuesday that Frankie Montas would be moving to the bullpen.
Thursday was Montas’ first available day in his new role. Mendoza said he expects to use the righthander as a “multi-inning guy.”
Montas, who signed a two-year, $34 million contract with the Mets in the offseason, has a 6.38 ERA in eight games (seven starts) this season. Top pitching prospect Nolan McLean will be called up to start Saturday.
“I told [Mendoza] I consider myself a starter,” Montas said. “In the meantime, I think, if that’s the way that I can help this team and I can contribute to get a win, I’m definitely willing to do it.”
The writing was on the wall after the Mets used Reed Garrett as an opener ahead of Montas’ outing last Saturday in Milwaukee. Mendoza hinted that the move to the bullpen could be a possibility in a conversation with Montas on Sunday before officially telling him Tuesday.
“I think Carlos handled that really good,” Montas said. “He kind of let me know ahead of time so I can get my mind prepared. I have a lot of respect for Carlos. And like I said, if he thinks that’s the best way that I can help, I’m OK with it.”
Extra bases
The Mets recognized Pete Alonso, who broke Darryl Strawberry’s franchise home run record in Tuesday’s 13-5 win over Atlanta, in a pregame ceremony Thursday.
Ben Dickson is Newsday Sports' general assignment reporter. He joined Newsday’s high school sports staff in 2023 after graduating from Maryland, where he covered several of the Terrapins' teams.
