Mets' Clay Holmes on potential surgery: 'I don't think anything is off the table really right now'
Mets starting pitcher Clay Holmes reacts against the Yankees during an MLB game at Citi Field on Friday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
The Mets’ Clay Holmes may yet need surgery for the fractured right fibula he suffered in Friday night’s Subway Series opener when he was struck by a 111 mph comebacker off the bat of the Yankees’ Spencer Jones.
As things stand right now he isn’t expected to require surgery, however before Sunday’s rubber game of the series at Citi Field, the righthander was asked about avoiding it and replied, “I don’t think anything is off the table really right now.”
“At this moment the training staff is still trying to gather as much as they can and see what's there,” Holmes added. “It doesn't seem to be the case, but there's still some opinions being gathered on that.”
Holmes said that if he needed a procedure it would be for “reinforcement” while the bone heals and added “whether it's a plate or a nail, I'm not exactly sure.” Assessing the need for surgery was “covering all the bases,” he said, to make certain the bone heals properly.
The Mets were still discussing how to replace Holmes in the starting rotation Sunday. Christian Scott will start Monday in Washington. Nolan McLean will start Tuesday or Wednesday, manager Carlos Mendoza said.
Holmes' leg was in a boot on Sunday and he was getting around the Mets' clubhouse on a knee scooter.
Holmes said the typical time for a break to heal is 4-to-6 weeks and after the bone is mended — and more imaging shows that it’s healed properly — he would be able to begin a throwing program. He would have to work his way back to pitching in games and then require a minor-league rehab assignment, so an optimistic outlook might be an August return.
Holmes had been having an excellent season going 4-4 with a 2.39 ERA in nine starts.
“I felt I was in a good spot with my body and arm,” he said. “A freak accident that’s out of your control can be tough.”
In some circumstances, a pitcher with a leg injury might try to keep his arm in shape by making throws from a chair, but Mendoza said, “I don’t think that’s going to be the case here.”
Holmes suffered an identical injury in almost the exact same spot during spring training before the 2020 season when he was hit by a Nelson Cruz comebacker. He didn’t believe the situation to be as severe when Jones' drive hit him. Holmes stayed in the game and faced seven more batters, five to finish the fourth inning and the first two Yankees to bat in the fifth.
“I was kind of hoping this was different — I still felt like I could put a little weight on it, so it kind of gave me some hope,” Holmes said. “When I tried to run back out, I knew that it didn’t really feel the same. It continued to get worse the more I threw.”
He said he experienced more pain than he currently has after the 2020 injury.
Jones and Holmes workout together in Nashville during the offseason and the rookie reached out to Holmes via text message after learning of the injury.
“I just told him that this is a freak accident — there’s nothing he can do — and I’m excited to see him finally get a chance up here and see what he can do here in the big leagues,” Holmes said.
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
