The offseason was hectic for the New York Mets. They added Freddy Peralta, Jorge Polanco, Devin Williams, Marcus Semien, Luke Weaver, and Bo Bichette while losing players like Pete Alonso, Edwin Diaz, Jeff McNeil, and Brandon Nimmo.
Right-hander Clay Holmes, one of their major offseason additions from 2024–2025, recently pitched for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic and put up a strong showing against Great Britain.
But today, Team USA made a few roster adjustments. After returning to their respective teams for spring training, pitchers Will Vest, Tyler Rogers, and Tim Hill will take over for Michael Wacha, Tarik Skubal, and Ryan Yarbrough. Additionally, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, Holmes’ tenure with Team USA is currently over.
Clay Holmes Returns to New York Mets Camp
In 2025, Holmes made his career debut as a starter. He was signed by the Mets with the goal of putting him in the starting lineup.
The 32-year-old has been a starter and a reliever and is a two-time All-Star. But his time in the WBC was really short.
In the end, though, it may be best that he is spending the remainder of spring training with the Mets. Preparing for the season should be the top objective, and the Mets will benefit somewhat by his return to camp.
In 31 starts and two relief appearances during the previous season, Holmes finished 12-8 with a 3.53 ERA. In addition, he pitched 165 2/3 innings with 129 strikeouts.
Holmes likely didn’t want to take the chance of getting hurt in the tournament and jeopardizing his ability to throw during the regular season because the Mets will need him healthy.
In the end, it could be wise for him to return to the Mets and leave the WBC. He can opt out at the end of the season, but he still has two years and $26 million left on his contract. The right-hander may be using this as a calculated strategy to avoid worrying about injuries when he enters free agency.
He must get ready for the season and stay healthy for the Mets. There will be a lot of criticism, but Holmes felt that this was the right thing to do. At least he got to play with his former teammate Aaron Judge and pitch for Team USA once again.
What it Means for Team USA
Of course, there are more points of contention with Holmes’ choice. Team USA may be impacted by roster changes as they get ready to play Canada tomorrow night because they lost some key players before to the event.
Although they have made some excellent acquisitions, it’s important to recognize the individuals who have left the team, which eventually necessitated these changes. Holmes was a reliable member of the pitching staff. When the tournament eventually begins, it will be interesting to see how the Americans perform. They will try to recover from a difficult defeat to Italy.
