Mets' Clay Holmes' injury complicates rotation, frustrates manager trying to keep team afloat
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza takes the ball from starting pitcher Clay Holmes during the fifth inning against the Yankees at Citi Field on Friday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
There’s demoralizing, and then there’s what happened in the seventh inning of the Mets’ loss to the Yankees on Friday night.
“I got the news” then, Carlos Mendoza said Saturday, referencing Clay Holmes’ surprising diagnosis — a broken right fibula, an injury suffered when he was hit by Spencer Jones’ 111.1-mph line drive in the top of the fourth. Holmes somehow faced seven more batters.
“This is when we had second and third and A.J. Ewing coming to the plate and you feel like you’re getting momentum and I’ve got the trainer coming up to me and telling me the news,’’ Mendoza said. “I was like, ‘Oh my God.’ ”
The Mets have been beset by injuries in what is beginning to feel like a cursed season, but this was the first time Mendoza expressed this level of bafflement. Holmes had been the team’s de facto ace, and though he’s not expected to need surgery, he won’t be able to do much of anything for six to eight weeks. It is not believed to be a season-ending injury, but it’ll be months before the big righthander returns to the mound.
“We’ve been hit a lot this year with a lot of our superstars, with a lot of key players, but yesterday felt different,” Mendoza said. “I think it’s a combination of a lot of things — not only the injuries, but what Clay means to this team not only on the field but off the field — the competitor, the person, the human, what he means to that clubhouse and what it means to the team and the rotation.”
Holmes’ 2.39 ERA is the best among the Mets’ starters and his 1.86 ERA heading into Friday’s loss was third in the National League among qualified pitchers. He also has an opt-out at the end of this year, meaning the Mets may have lost a potentially valuable trade chip.
They recalled reliever Joey Gerber on Saturday in lieu of Holmes, but the rotation remains in deep flux. They used Huascar Brazoban as an opener on Saturday in another attempt to get the most out of David Peterson, who stumbled early this season.
Mendoza said multiple options are being considered, including inserting Tobias Myers into the rotation. Myers, who’s done pretty much everything for the Mets out of the bullpen, came up as a starter and has a 3.25 ERA in 15 appearances this season.
They’re also looking at some of their prospects, the most successful of whom is Jack Wenninger. He is 3-1 with a 1.08 ERA with 38 strikeouts and 18 walks in 33 1⁄3 innings with Triple-A Syracuse.
Stretching out Myers, wouldn’t necessarily be simple. He hasn’t thrown more than 40 pitches this year, and making those tweaks in-season runs some risk.
“He goes out there and you’re hoping to get him to 40, 45 pitches, and what if that first inning, he doesn’t have it and there’s traffic,” Mendoza said. “That’s when it gets tricky when you’re trying to build guys up in big-league games, but we’ve done it in the past. We’ll see.”
Sean Manaea, also in the bullpen, has been less effective (though he had a solid enough outing against the Diamondbacks last week) and runs the same risk. His name is also under consideration.
In all, the injury math continues to be complicated for the Mets, who also have Kodai Senga on the injured list. Senga, who will throw live batting practice in Florida on Sunday, isn’t am option this next time through the rotation, Mendoza said.
All that doesn’t even take into consideration the other wounded, walking and otherwise. Francisco Lindor, Francisco Alvarez and Luis Robert Jr. don’t appear close to returning, and while Jorge Polanco took part in fielding practice Saturday, Mendoza has described him as having “some good days and some not-so-good days.”
Juan Soto has been playing through a bevy of ailments. It was noticeable Friday when he experienced wrist discomfort while swinging through a pitch in the fourth inning.
“I’ve been dealing with a couple things — the foul ball [off my foot Wednesday], the calf, elbow, everything, so I’m trying to get back on track,” said Soto, who nonetheless homered Thursday and Friday. “I’m feeling great. It’s no excuse, my wrist or anything.”
Soto continues to play the field, starting in left and hitting third Saturday.
“He’s not the only one and he’s going to continue to post,” Mendoza said. “He knows how important he is, and as long as he’s not putting anything at risk, he’s going to continue to play . . .
“We’ve got to keep going, man,” Mendoza said. “We’ve got to keep going here and we know nobody’s going to feel sorry for us. All you can do is show up every day. We have a responsibility. We have a job to do, and that’s what we’ll continue to go out there and do.”
And now they’ll try to do it without their ace.
Laura Albanese is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. She's been covering MLB since 2014 after starting at Newsday as an intern seven years earlier.
