The Rangers are digging into the starting-pitching market as Monday’s trade deadline approaches, and Clay Holmes has landed on their radar.
Texas’ most obvious shopping list items are still a bullpen arm and a right-handed bat, but the rotation could use help too. Jack Leiter, Jordan Montgomery and Cody Bradford are all on the IL, and MacKenzie Gore’s ERA is sitting just under 5.00. In other words, there’s plenty of room for another arm.
According to The Athletic’s Jim Bowden, the Rangers were one of four teams on hand for Holmes’ rehab start on Sunday, a sign that interest is already building around the Mets right-hander.
Holmes would bring a different kind of value if Texas got involved. He’s not just a rotation patch.
He could raise the ceiling of the staff. And if the Rangers wanted to shuffle a starter or two into relief down the stretch, that would give the bullpen a boost as well.
Holmes has taken a winding path to this point. He logged a few starts as a rookie with the Pittsburgh Pirates before becoming a full-time reliever. From 2021-24 with the Yankees, he turned into one of the game’s best bullpen arms and made two All-Star teams, in 2022 and 2024.
After the 2024 season, Holmes signed a three-year, $38 million deal with the Mets and carries a $12 million player option for next year. New York moved him back into the rotation, and the results have been strong.
Last season, he posted a 3.53 ERA in 165 2/3 innings across 33 appearances, 31 of them starts. This year, before a right fibula fracture interrupted things, he had worked nine starts and put up a 2.39 ERA in 52 2/3 innings.
Now that he’s back on a rehab assignment, the market is starting to circle. He’s expected to turn down that player option for next year, though the looming lockout makes the future a little murkier.
Holmes’ High-A rehab outing on Sunday wasn’t spotless, but it gave teams something to evaluate. He gave up three runs, two earned, on seven hits with no walks and three strikeouts over 73 pitches. Joel Sherman of The New York Post reported that the sinker, Holmes’ main pitch, looked good.
Clay Holmes in his rehab start at High-A Brooklyn: 5.1IP, 7H, 3R, 2ER, 0BB, 3Ks. 73 pitches. Word from the stadium was his main-pitch sinker was good at 91mph (top at 93).
Secondary stuff iffier. Looked like a healthy pitcher.
The Rangers have reasons beyond the deadline buzz to keep pressing for rotation help. Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi struggled against the Houston Astros, and Gore, Kumar Rocker and Jack Leiter have all been inconsistent when healthy. Adding someone who can steady the group would matter, and Holmes offers the kind of top-end stability that would stand out in Texas.
The better he looks, the higher the price tag. But if the Rangers are serious about buying, Holmes is the kind of pitcher worth a hard look.
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