Mets' Clay Holmes Out With Fractured Fibula
The New York Mets have suffered yet another crushing blow to their season.
Shortly after the Amazins' fell to the New York Yankees in the first game of the Subway Series, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza revealed that starting pitcher Clay Holmes had fractured his fibula. The 33-year-old righty suffered the injury in the fourth inning when he was hit by a comebacker from Yankees outfield prospect Spencer Jones. Holmes remained in the game and pitched into the fifth inning, which is why the Mets were caught by surprise when X-rays revealed the fracture.
"He's going to be down for a long time," Mendoza said after revealing the injury to the media. "It's a huge blow. He's one of the most consistent guys that we had in that rotation."
Clay Holmes got hit by this comebacker off the bat of Spencer Jones in the fourth inning.
— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) May 16, 2026
Holmes stayed in the game and pitched into the fifth https://t.co/9itrCjJSGcpic.twitter.com/TwCfIUgz4W
Friday marked Holmes' worst start of the season, as he pitched 4.1 innings and allowed four runs on seven hits to take the loss. However, Holmes had been brilliant in his previous eight starts, logging a robust 1.86 ERA and 1.01 WHIP in 48.1 innings pitched. His outing against the Bronx Bombers only raised his ERA to a still rock-solid 2.39, and he struck out eight batters to boot.
It can't be overstated how brutal of a blow this is to the Mets. Even with Freddy Peralta and Nolan McLean in the rotation, Holmes had been the most dependable arm up to this point in the season in terms of both run prevention and delivering length. Before leaving Friday's game, he had become the team's leader in innings pitched with 52.2.
Last year, Holmes not only successfully transitioned from a reliever to a starter, but provided stability to a unit that was plagued by injuries and erratic performances. Making 31 starts, the big right-hander more than doubled his career-high in innings by tossing 165.2 frames and posted a 3.53 ERA, 4.11 FIP, 1.30 WHIP and 1.9 fWAR.
Four strikeouts in two innings for Clay Holmes! pic.twitter.com/8rWhOkez5i
— SNY (@SNYtv) May 15, 2026
Before his transition to a starter, Holmes had seen success as a reliever with the Yankees and he faced a handful of former teammates on Friday. Yankees manager Aaron Boone is especially familiar with Holmes due to deploying him as the Bronx Bombers' closer for three seasons, and expressed sympathy for his injury while praising him for staying in the game as long as he did after suffering it.
"That sucks, I just heard that a few minutes ago... I hate to hear that," Boone said. "He's a dog. He's a gamer. He's physically tough, but he's tough between the ears too. I could tell he was hurting, and he's not a guy that's showing it a lot, or trying not to show it, but you can tell [the comebacker] got him good... when he was walking off, I knew it didn't look that great."
"He's a dog. He's a gamer. He's physically tough, but he's tough between the ears, too."
— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) May 16, 2026
Aaron Boone says he's not surprised that Clay Holmes stayed in tonight's game after suffering his injury, and adds that "I could tell he was hurting" pic.twitter.com/ykYNFhnjOS
With Holmes sidelined indefinitely, the Mets' rotation now consists of Peralta, McLean, Christian Scott, and likely David Peterson, who had been recently used as a long reliever. Fellow righty starter Kodai Senga is also on the injured list with lumbar spine inflammation. The vacancy in the rotation could lead to a call-up of one of the Mets' top pitching prospects, such as Jonah Tong or Jack Wenninger.
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This story was originally published May 15, 2026 at 8:29 PM.