Clay Holmes injury loses the NY Mets more than their best pitcher

Will you pack it up or shall I? The New York Mets are going to be without Clay Holmes for a long time.

Their best pitcher this season and most consistent from start to finish last year, the loss has its sole silver lining as a chance to maybe see Jack Wenninger in the major leagues. That’s optimistic. Realistically, the Mets lose both a rotation stalwart this season and one of their better trade deadline assets.

A comeback with all of these injuries mounting feels more impossible. Holmes, on a deal paying him $13 million last season and this, has a player option for $12 million next year. It’s difficult to say if he has proven enough already to test the market. In 40 starts with the Mets and a pair of relief appearances, his 3.26 ERA tells us he’s far better off bypassing next year’s contract and going for, at minimum, one of those heftier one-year deals worth around $20 million or so. He’d be a candidate to come back to the Mets for sure. In the immediate future, the team might not have anything to gain from a trade deadline deal.

The Clay Holmes injury lost them a fistfight, a battle, and maybe the war

The ironic thing is with the Holmes loss the woefulness stings most from the big picture. If a guy like Wenninger, assuming he’d get the promotion next week to start a game, can perform well then the loss isn’t as great. The problem for the Mets is they can ill-afford growing pains from another youngster. They already have Christian Scott more in the development phase than the finished product.

Everybody, other than who might replace Holmes in the rotation, loses in this situation. David Stearns can’t even cite his best free agent signing short of Juan Soto as a reason to keep his job if the inevitable happens and the Mets end up ear-deep in quicksand.

With every loss, Mets fans have been thinking about how big of a change of direction this franchise could go by the August 3rd trade deadline (remember that date and take PTO). Freddy Peralta’s name has already circulated as a potential early trade candidate although those Mets rumors were moonwalked back faster than Michael Jackson in his prime.

The Holmes loss, while only affecting them once every five or six days tops, is a morale blow as well. A team can only sustain so many ailments before it weighs too heavily. And even those positives like a chance to see Wenninger come with the painful caveat that plays like Sean Manaea can buy themselves more time and possibly even an extended look.

It’s messy in the Mets kitchen and daddy forgot to buy the paper towels.

An injury that could've happened to anyone, the heart and the brain hurt on this one. Our hearts sting because Holmes was becoming one of the more popular Mets players. Meanwhile, the brain aches because we realize the reality of the situation.

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