One of baseball’s best firemen is a fascinating addition to the Mets’ staff. ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported that Holmes will be signed as a starting pitcher, despite being primarily utilized out of the bullpen in his career. Passan also reported that Holmes will receive an opt-out after the second year.
Holmes finished 2024 on a sour note, losing his late-inning job to Luke Weaver, amidst 13 blown regular season saves. That’s not to discredit his dominant four-year stretch where he established himself as one of the game’s best set-up men.
Holmes represents a different project for the Mets’ pitching development group after they signed Frankie Montas earlier in the week. Holmes is in familiar company in the Mets organization, due to Eric Jagers and Co. recently poaching highly-regarded pitching coach Desi Druschel from the Yankees. Dreuschel overlapped with Holmes for years in New York.