Former NY Mets player is hoping to become the next Clay Holmes

If you’ve forgotten about the 2020 New York Mets season, you have company. It was short, we were distracted, and the team was lousy. One of the few bright spots came from veteran reliever Erasmo Ramirez. A 0.63 ERA in 14.1 innings of work, his excellent results for a lousy team had many wondering if maybe he could be a part of the club in 2021.

The full 162 game season gave Ramirez larger fits as he has continued to be a journeyman ever since. An awesome 2022 season with the Washington Nationals pitching to a 2.92 ERA, he saw it balloon over 6.00 with the Nationals and Tampa Bay Rays in 2023. He tossed just under a dozen last year with the Minnesota Twins, doing his usual schtick of relying on soft contact.

Following in the footsteps of Clay Holmes, Ramirez is now planning on transitioning into a starting pitcher.

After Clay Holmes' year with the Mets, we know better than to laugh at the idea of Erasmo Ramirez moving to a starter’s role

If Holmes taught us anything, it’s to keep an open mind with these things. Holmes was frustrating at times, but in the grand scheme, the most reliable and consistent Mets starting pitcher last year. How can we really complain?

Ramirez was a starter early in his career, dabbling with a few more as recently as 2023. It’s eye-catching to see this report about his career transition. Barely 30 big league innings over the last two seasons, he won’t be able to quite market himself as well as Holmes did.

When the Mets signed Holmes to his reasonable contract, the eject button would’ve had him landing firmly in the back of the bullpen. Paid $13 million last year and again this season, the safety net was for him to become a high-priced reliever but not even the most expensive one on the Mets roster. They never did need to completely remove him from the rotation. Holmes made 31 starts and another pair of relief appearances.

As Charlie Wright of MLB Trade Rumors noted, Ramirez probably profiles best as a swingman of sorts. The way the Mets used Trevor Williams in 2022 is a perfect example. The way they viewed Jose Urena, who was used similarly in 2024 with the Texas Rangers, is another example of the kind of ideal spot starter who’ll eat up a lot of innings as a long man.

Unlike last year when the Mets had the room to do something daring like turn Holmes into a starter, there isn’t as much space for this kind of experiment in 2026. David Stearns can appreciate a good long man in the bullpen. However, with Brandon Waddell re-signed, young pitching prospects available, and some choices with minor league options already with the club or bound to come along, we’ll have to watch this unique change unfold for another ball club–if anyone bites.