David Lennon: Mets' Clay Holmes thankful Andy Pettitte wanted him for World Baseball Classic
New York Mets pitcher Clay Holmes during a spring training workout, Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026 in Port St. Lucie, FL. Credit: Newsday/Alejandra Villa Loarca
DUNEDIN, Fla. — As Grapefruit League debuts go, Clay Holmes had his hands full Monday. The Blue Jays used their 'A' lineup, and the first-pitch temp was a surprisingly cool 53 degrees with a 25-mph wind.
Balmy for blizzard-ravaged NYC, sure. But downright frosty for the Gulf Coast, making these early outings a bit more challenging this time of year. One advantage for Holmes: his accelerated ramp-up for the World Baseball Classic, which had him relatively sharp for the assignment.
The one glitch? His clash with Kazuma Okamoto, the former Japanese star who signed a four-year, $60 million deal with the Blue Jays in January. Okamoto is slotted to be the starting third baseman for the defending American League champs on Opening Day, but first he’ll join Team Japan in its attempt to win back-to-back WBC titles.
Okamoto stepped up to face Holmes in the second inning Monday, and on a 1-and-2 count, Holmes threw him a curveball — a pitch that he’s been “messing around with” and probably plans to throw more to lefthanded hitters. In this situation, the curve was a big bender to the righty Okamoto, who hammered a 431-foot blast that caromed off the batter’s eye in centerfield.
“Maybe he’ll go back and tell his Japanese teammates that I throw a big curveball to righthanded batters now,” Holmes said, smiling. “We’ll see.”
With many convinced the U.S. and Japan are headed for a WBC rematch at some point — they faced off in the 2023 title game, which Japan won, 3-2 — Holmes could very well see Okamoto again next month, with much bigger stakes. By then, Holmes should be in midseason form. Don’t expect a repeat of Monday’s breezy afternoon in Dunedin.
Holmes has become a huge asset for the Mets’ rotation, but it was his Bronx connection with Andy Pettitte — from his days in the Yankees’ bullpen — that landed him on the Team USA pitching staff this year. With Pettitte returning as pitching coach, he was the one who recruited Holmes, shortly after his conversion to being a starter in Flushing. He jumped at the invitation this winter.
“I think the world of Andy,” Holmes said after the Mets' 4-3 win over the Blue Jays. “He’s an amazing human being. Obviously, what he’s done in the game is incredible. Just to have somebody like him believe in me, and be in my corner, and want me to be a part of the team was special. It definitely meant something to me.”
The WBC also means a sped-up spring training, as pitchers show up earlier and start throwing sooner than their counterparts. That’s not ideal, considering there’s still a six-month regular season ahead, and the daunting workload typically has prevented most of the marquee names from participating.
Holmes, however, doesn’t see it as any issue for him, even after throwing 165 2/3 innings last season, nearly triple the amount that he threw the previous season as a Yankees’reliever and second only to David Peterson (168 2/3) on the Mets’ staff. He said he’s been fine physically despite the additional workload, and approached this spring training the same as he did a year ago, when he went 12-8 with a 3.53 ERA over 31 starts and two relief appearances.
“I feel the same right now as I did coming into camp last year, which has been encouraging,” Holmes said.
At least now Holmes knows he’s capable of being a front-line starter, just as the Mets banked on when they signed him to a three-year, $38 million contract. The trick is sustaining that success, and the WBC workload this time around isn’t going to make things any easier. Holmes got off to a fantastic start last season, with a 2.99 ERA through his first 17 starts, but then began to fade some in the middle, a dip that some assumed was inevitable when the innings caught up to him.
“It wasn’t just one thing,” Holmes said. “Maybe I felt some of the innings add up. Maybe my delivery wasn’t quite the same. With all those things, I think it boils down to I’ve got to find a way to stay in the zone and attack hitters, especially the lefties. I think that’s what hurt me some of those times.”
All of that is part of last year’s learning experience. And Holmes thinks that better command of his cutter — something that he tinkered with toward the end of last season — should keep him in advantageous counts and enhance his other pitches.
On Monday, Holmes got the usual batch of ground balls from his reliable sinker, along with three strikeouts on his sweeper and changeup over 3 2/3 innings. The K that ended his workday was on a two-strike changeup to Addison Barger that initially was called a ball before catcher Hayden Senger immediately tapped his helmet. The ABS replay on the videoboard then showed the pitch nicked the strike zone by two-tenths of an inch.
“I thought half the ball was in the zone,” Senger said.
Senger agreed that Holmes already was sharp enough for the WBC, and he’ll get another start before leaving Mets camp to join Team USA out in Arizona. From there, Holmes isn’t exactly sure how he’ll be used, either as a starter or in more of a piggyback role. Based on Monday’s performance, in less than optimal spring training conditions, Holmes appears to be trending in the right direction, for both the WBC and the Mets upon his return.
David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.
