Carlos Mendoza says he expects Clay Holmes to pitch again this season:
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The Mets are optimistic that Clay Holmes will pitch again in 2026, despite suffering a right fibula fracture.
The New York Mets saw starter Clay Holmes go down with a fractured right fibula in their 5-2 loss to the New York Yankees on May 15. The right-hander will be down for the foreseeable future, but Mets manager Carlos Mendoza confirmed they expect to see him pitch for them again this season.
“Obviously, he’s going to be down for quite a bit here, but we’ll see him this season,” said Mendoza, with video courtesy of the team’s network, SNYtv.
Carlos Mendoza says he expects Clay Holmes to pitch again this season:
The Mets’ optimism that Holmes will return by the end of 2026 is further confirmed by the right-hander. While he didn’t 100% rule out surgery, he doesn’t believe it will be the case and the fracture will heal on its own.
Clay Holmes said there’s an outside chance he could still need surgery on his right leg, perhaps to install a stabilizing plate.
“But I don’t think that’s going to be the case,” Holmes said, adding that doctors expect his fractured fibula to heal naturally.
MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo shared more details on the potential return timeline for Holmes. The right-hander will be shut down for at least the next six to eight weeks for the bone to heal. Once he’s back on a mound, he’ll need a full Spring Training-style build-up. That could take another four to six weeks, depending on how well Holmes progresses.
With that long a timeline, the right-hander will not likely be back before the trade deadline. Holmes was the subject of trade rumors, especially with the Mets struggling to a 18-26 record. Since he was performing well in 2026 and under contract for 2027 at a reasonable salary of $12 million, the organization could have commanded a haul at the deadline.
Holmes suffered the injury in the fourth inning of his start. Yankees rookie Spencer Jones ripped a 111.1 MPH comebacker that struck the right-hander’s right shin. Holmes recorded three more outs before being removed from the game. The fibula fracture was announced postgame.
Clay Holmes fractured his tibia after this 111 MPH liner hit him, per @NYPost_Mets
The following day, the Mets placed the right-hander on the 15-day injured list. Right-handed reliever Joey Gerber was recalled from Triple-A Syracuse. He’ll serve as an extra reliever before Holmes’ rotation spot comes up again on May 20.
Holmes becomes the second Mets starter to suffer an injury during the 2026 season. Kodai Senga hasn’t pitched since late April due to lumbar spine inflammation. Before the game, Mendoza said that Senga will throw a live BP at the club’s Spring Training facility in Florida on May 17.
Carlos Mendoza says that Kodai Senga will be throwing a live BP in Florida tomorrow
With injuries being almost one-sided for the Mets, they’ll take any positive injury news they can get. But even then, Senga is still weeks out from a return as he’ll have to ramp up to a starter’s workload himself.
It will still be months before Holmes takes the mound for the Mets. However, they’ll need to find a way to plug that hole until the day the right-hander returns to action.
It will be interesting to see who the Mets will call up for that start. They have two prospects in Triple-A they could turn to between Jonah Tong and Jack Wenninger. Wenninger would require a 40-man roster move, although the Mets could transfer Holmes to the 60-day injured list to make that happen.
Tong aligns better with Holmes’ rotation spot, as his previous start with Syracuse was on May 14. Wenninger is scheduled to start again on May 17 against Scranton Wilkes-Barre. If the Mets want to go with the least disruptive move, they could call up their No. 2 prospect for his second MLB stint.
Michael McDermott Michael McDermott covers MLB for Heavy Sports. He's previously published content for SB Nation, Sports Illustrated, and FanSided in 11 seasons. More about Michael McDermott
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