Former Pirates Reliever Tabbed Opening Day Starter for Mets

It’s been a while since Clay Holmes wore a Pittsburgh Pirates’ jersey. You might not even recognize him if you saw him now.

Holmes spent parts of four seasons with the Pirates from 2018-21, amassing 91 appearances/four starts. The right-hander featured good stuff but never generated very good results. He finished his tenure in Pittsburgh at 5-7 with a 5.57 ERA.

The Pirates traded Holmes to the New York Yankees at the trade deadline in 2021 for infield prospects Hoy Park and Diego Castillo. Both players appeared in games for the Pirates but quickly fizzled out and are no longer with the organization.

Holmes, meanwhile, quickly turned around his career with his new team. In 25 appearances in pinstripes after the trade, Holmes posted a 1.61 ERA and established himself as the Yankees’ closer for the next three seasons. In 220 career appearances with the Yankees, Holmes went 19-15 with a 2.69 ERA, 74 saves and 238 strikeouts.

This offseason, Holmes signed a free agent deal to remain in New York but switch allegiances to the Mets. The soon-to-be 32-year-old signed a three-year, $38 million contract. The price tag was steep but justified given his performance in recent seasons, only the Mets announced that they would be using Holmes as a starting pitcher.

So far, the decision is paying off. Through his first three starts of the spring, Holmes has yet to allow a run and has only yielded a pair of hits with four walks and 13 strikeouts in 9.2 innings pitched.

On Friday, it was revealed by manager Carlos Mendoza that Holmes would be the Mets’ starting pitcher on Opening Day.

The last time Holmes started a game came on Sept. 30, 2018 in a game against the Cincinnati Reds. He went four innings, allowed three runs on three hits, walked four and struck out three.

His next one is as big an honor a starting pitcher can have in the regular season. It’s been quite a turnaround for Holmes since leaving the Pirates, and it seems like it keeps getting better.