We've talked ad nauseam about the New York Mets' failures to reinforce their rotation with the kind of star talent they infused their lineup with this offseason. It isn't a secret, especially in the wake of injuries to both Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas, that the team's pitching staff is simply underwhelming.
That notion got a huge kick in the pants less than two weeks shy of Opening Day, as the Mets announced their starter for the first game of the 2025 regular season. It isn't Kodai Senga, or even David Peterson... it's a guy who will be taking his first big league start since 2018.
Clay Holmes will start on Opening Day for the Mets.
— Underdog MLB (@Underdog__MLB) March 14, 2025
Clay Holmes, whom the Mets plucked from the crosstown New York Yankees from free agency, isn't exactly the paradigm of an Opening Day starter for a supposed World Series contender. Even with all the Yankees have going on — including devastating injuries to both Gerrit Cole and Luis Gil — they're still positioned better in the rotation than their "little brothers" in Queens.
Mets can't be viewed as contenders with Clay Holmes atop rotation
It's worth noting that, unlike Cole, Manaea and Montas aren't expected to be out for the season. In fact, they should both be back before the All-Star break, if not much sooner.
Still, Holmes' position on this depleted version of the Mets' staff shows the amount of faith the team is putting in the converted reliever. In his four career starts, all with the Pittsburgh Pirates seven years ago, Holmes accrued a 7.80 ERA. He allowed 20 hits and 13 walks in just 15 innings across that quadrilogy of appearances.
And while he's been very effective since the Yankees molded him into a late-inning fireman, Holmes still lost the closer's gig late last year to Luke Weaver. What's to say that, at 32 years old (Opening Day is his birthday), he'll suddenly figure out how to expand his repertoire and pace himself enough to throw five-plus innings every five days?
With Juan Soto — another snatch-and-grab from the Yankees this winter — in tow, the Mets have the makings of a title-caliber offense. What they need, and have needed all offseason, is more pitching, especially an ace atop the rotation.
Senga was brilliant in his rookie season but missed practically all of 2024. Peterson authored a 2.90 ERA in 121.0 innings last year, but he's not the kind of overpowering pitcher teams like to refer to as their "ace".
Until and unless the Mets create some buffers on their depth chart by adding a true No. 1 starter, they can't be viewed in the same way as the Dodgers, Braves, or Phillies. It isn't a stretch to say they aren't even in the Yankees' tier either, even with Holmes and Soto defecting to their cause.