Clay Holmes wasn’t the first pitcher to come from the Yankees to the Mets after David Stearns came aboard as the president of baseball operations two years ago. That title belongs to Luis Severino, who is now a country away from New York City, pitching in Sacramento for the A’s.
But Holmes did become a trendsetter of sorts as the first of the group of relief pitchers to go from the Bronx to Queens, so you could say he’s qualified to give advice for those following in his path.
Luke Weaver needed no advice. By the time he had reached out to his former teammate about the Mets, he had already made up his mind.
“We exchanged some texts, I think they had their little Zoom meetings and stuff scheduled for later in the afternoon,” Holmes said recently at Citi Field. “He was texting me before that meeting saying, ‘Well, I kind of just decided, and kind of just verbally agreed to it.’ I think things kind of went fast for him.”
The Mets signed the right-handed former Yankees closer to a two-year, $22 million contract the week after the Winter Meetings to give the bullpen two high-leverage arms. Weaver will be reunited with right-hander Devin Williams, who signed with the Mets earlier in December as a free agent. and Holmes, a closer-turned-starter.
“There were a lot of things he really liked,” Holmes said. “I’m happy to have a friend here.”
The two grew close with the Yankees, despite seemingly reversing roles with one another. Holmes was the Bombers’ closer in 2024, before ceding his job to Weaver late in the season. Weaver became a breakout star of the playoffs in the ninth-inning role, while Holmes set up for him at times, and other times he was tasked with holding tight leads in the middle innings.
They’re the same age with both going into their age-33 seasons, and their careers as starting pitchers didn’t quite work out as they had anticipated. Holmes found his way back to a starting role with the Mets, but for Weaver, pitching in relief revived his career. A first-round pick out of Florida State in 2014, Weaver pitched for six teams before finding his footing with the Yankees in 2024. He went 7-3 with a 2.89 ERA and four saves over 84 innings that season, helping the Yankees reach the World Series.
It was his first full season as a reliever. The Seattle Mariners cut him in 2023 after only a few relief appearances, and the Yankees saw enough to take a chance on him as a waiver-claim. They signed him as rotation depth for 2024 but quickly realized he could be more effective as a reliever.
“Luke has obviously had a lot of success, so for me, I’m happy to see him get rewarded for it and obviously happy to play with him again,” Holmes said. “We get along really well; he’s a good friend. Just to see him make the trip over here and get to be his teammate again is going to be great.”
The two have different personalities, but they work together as friends. Weaver is known to be a character, once calling himself a “ferocious jungle cat” on the mound, but his demeanor can turn competitive in an instant. Holmes is easygoing, yet methodical on the mound.
“Me and him, he balances me out a little while I balanced him out well,” Holmes said. “We’ve kind of matched pretty good.”
Teams are typically so well prepared with their free agent pitches, and teams and agencies alike are usually well-equipped with staffers to support players and their families in making decisions and making the physical moves to new cities that intermediaries like Holmes aren’t always needed. Plus, going from the Yankees to the Mets isn’t exactly a drastic change for the families. Williams said part of the reason he made the decision to sign with the Mets was because of his familiarity with the city after his year with the Yankees.
Still, Holmes is happy to avail himself if needed.
“As a place to play, I’ve enjoyed it,” Holmes said. “I’m sure a lot of the players out there, if they have any questions, there are a lot of people they can reach out to.”
