Another major injury crimps the Mets hopes for a turnaround
This time, its their best pitcher, who was lost to a fractured fibula
What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾️
The Mets lost to the Yankees on Friday night by a score of 5-1 at Citi Field (box)
Clay Holmes started for the Mets, and he got hit around for four runs through 4.1 innings before being removed from the game after fracturing his fibula on a comebacker off the bat of Spencer Jones
The Mets bullpen was good again, allowing just a run over 4.2 IP between Austin Warren, Tobias Myers, and Craig Kimbrel
The Mets mustered just one run, which was a solo home run off the bat of Juan Soto, the 250th of his career
The club scattered only four other singles around Soto’s homer on the night, leaving five runners on-base after going 1-for-2 with runners in scoring position
Injury Updates 🏥
RHP Clay Holmes (fractured fibula) is out indefinitely - there is no timetable for him to return
Play of the Game 😢
Unfortunately, the play of the game goes to Spencer Jones, who hit a 111 mph missile that took out the fibula of Clay Holmes in the fourth inning. That comebacker fractured Holmes’ fibula, which will most likely sideline him for 2-3 months at a minimum, if not longer.
Just Mets Podcast 🎙️
In the latest edition of the Just Mets Podcast, Andrew reacts to the first series sweep of the year for the Mets, led by the, “Baby Mets.”
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Down on the Farm 🌾
OF Nick Morabito (no. 11 prospect, AAA): 3-for-5, RBI
OF/IF Chris Suero (no. 14 prospect, AA): 2-for-3, HR, 2 RBI, R
C Ronald Hernandez (High-A): 2-for-3, 3 RBI
OF JT Benson (Low-A): 2-for-5, HR, 4 RBI
BOX SCORES
Triple-A | Double-A | Single-A | High-A
Today’s Game 🗓
Match-up: Mets (18-26) vs. Yankees (28-17)
Where: Citi Field — Flushing, NY
Starters: RHP Huascar Brazobán (2-1, 2.14 ERA) vs. LHP Carlos Rodón (0-0, 6.23 ERA)
When: 7:15 PM EDT
Where to Watch: FOX
An attempt to turn a negative into a positive ✍️
For a moment, I am going to offer a silver lining to this Clay Holmes catastrophe for the Mets.
There isn’t much on this date, of course, as the Mets lost their best pitcher and one of the best in the National League to date in 2026. But Holmes was unquestionably a high-value trade candidate this summer, assuming the Mets were unable to continue their ascent back into contention by the trade deadline.
Obviously, now that isn’t the case. Holmes will need at least two months for his fractured fibula to heal before he can even consider a return-to-play plan, which takes him past the All-Star break, if not longer than that. He would then basically need a full spring training program before returning to the Mets, which likely places him into September. Again, that is a best-case scenario based on the history of this injury, and for a pitcher, it could be a whole different story. I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw the last of Holmes in 2026, but hopefully, he can get back sometime this year.
That brings me to the silver lining. He has a player option in his contract for 2027. Unless I am a complete idiot, it would seem likely he will now opt-in to his 2027 contract, and the Mets would then have him back in the rotation next season. Granted, it could be close to a full year before he throws another major league pitch, but he has emerged as one of the most reliable starting pitchers in the league, and certainly one of the best so far in 2026 despite getting batted around by the Yankees before he exited last night’s game.
It really is a shame - I wrote earlier this month that Holmes’ transition into a starting pitcher has been one of the very few success stories for this front office over the last couple of years, and his path to becoming such a good starting pitcher can serve as a popcorn trail for other relievers to do the same going forward. No pitcher in the amateur ranks endeavors to be a reliever; rather, it’s just a role they end up in out of need or simply effectiveness as they get older and into more competitive leagues. Holmes certainly became a successful reliever, but the Mets saw something in him as a starter when he was a free agent two winters ago, and Holmes obviously wanted to turn himself back into a starting pitcher as well. He bought in completely to the process, going to camp in early January, 2025 to begin this journey. What a story he was for himself, the Mets, and other pitchers who want to now be like Clay (and Seth Lugo, among others).
Again, this is a real shame. And obviously, this puts a major crimp into the Mets’ ability to turn things around in 2026. He gave the Mets hope - now they have to find their potion elsewhere.
So, now what? Honestly, that isn’t clear.
The most obvious alternative right now is Jonah Tong, who has been generally better lately for Triple-A Syracuse, but was roughed up by the Scranton Wilkes-Barre Yankees on Thursday night. There’s also no. 5 prospect Jack Wenninger, who has been incredible at Triple-A so far in 2026 to the tune of a 1.08 ERA over 33 innings and was a breakout prospect for the organization in 2025 too.
I have to believe it’s going to be Tong to start even though his 5.68 ERA and 24 walks in 38 innings are hardly worthy of a major league promotion. The rest of his numbers are actually great - he’s fanned 55 batters against 24 hits in 38 IP so far in 2026, which amounts to a 13 strikeouts-per-nine ratio. But again, those walks are a problem - he might have to learn on the job with the Mets, as they simply have no other viable option unless they turn to Wenninger, for which they would have to make a 40-man roster move.
That 40-man move of course could very well be Holmes who they can put on the 60-day injured list as he is very unlikely to be back within that timeframe.
As for the game, it was a very typical day for the Mets offense, as it turns out. As in, not a lot of that.
They got good relief work behind Holmes as they continue to excel. Their relief unit has a 3.50 ERA, which is 11th best in the game - that’s top third territory which is always a reason to have hope things can turn around. Their starters have a 4.02 ERA, which is 13th best but a lot of that is David Peterson, who has stunk as a starter but has excelled as a bulk reliever behind Huascar Brazobán, who will get the start today ahead of Peterson, presumably.
Having said that, what happened yesterday to Holmes clouds any hope the Mets might’ve had to dig themselves out of this deep trench they put themselves in over the first six weeks of the season. Injuries happen, especially to pitchers although this one is a freak accident - this is going to be tough to overcome, not that the other injuries aren’t devastating this roster.
Around the League 🚩
Merrill Kelly threw his first career complete game - at Coors Field - as the Diamondbacks beat the Rockies 9-1
Randy Vasquez gave the Padres six shutout innings as they edged the Mariners 2-0
Max Muncy and Teoscar Hernandez homered as the Dodgers shut the Angels out 6-0
Mark Leiter allowed a run over seven innings, but the Astros shut the Rangers out 2-0 in Houston
BARTOLO!
Dangers of writing of deadline: that pesky ninth inning run that doesn’t impact the result but changes the narrative a tiny bit.