Teams talking to free agent right-hander Clay Holmes believe he is close to making a decision, reports Jayson Stark of The Athletic.
Per The Athletic, it isn’t yet clear if Holmes will sign as a reliever or starter.
The Mets are among the teams interested in Holmes, potentially as a starter, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported earlier this week.
Holmes, who is entering his age-32 season, has not started a game since his rookie season in 2018, when he started four games for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Holmes earned his second career All-Star nod with the Yankees in 2024, pitching to a 3.14 ERA while picking up 30 saves. That said, he did lead the majors with 13 blown saves.
Still, Holmes was terrific overall in his three-and-a-half seasons as a Yankee, posting a 2.69 ERA with 74 saves.
The Mets have multiple holes in the bullpen and rotation.
In the rotation, the recently-signed Frankie Montas will take up one of three spots, along with Kodai Senga and David Peterson. The expectation is that the Mets will add at least two more legitimate starting pitchers via free agency and/or trade.
As far as the bullpen, there are likely three locks — closer Edwin Diaz, Dedniel Núñez, and Reed Garrett.