Clay Holmes knows it’s all business, but that doesn’t make it sting any less.
The Mets pitcher watched teammates Pete Alonso and Edwin Diaz leave in free agency this winter, while outfielder Brandon Nimmo left Queens via trade.
“You know, for a player, it’s a little sad seeing those guys go,” he said at the team’s Kids Holiday Party on Thursday. “They’re great players, they’ve been great Mets for a long time. Really connected with the fanbase. As people, as players, even in the clubhouse, they’re great people.”
Alonso, the franchise’s all-time leader in home runs with 264, left town for the Orioles on a five-year, $155 million deal, while Diaz, one of baseball’s premier closers, joined up with the Dodgers on a three-year, $69 million pact.
Coupled with Nimmo being dealt to the Rangers for Marcus Semien, three of the Mets’ longest-tenured fan-favorites are now gone, which amounts to an overhaul.
“Always tough to see those guys go, you hope for the best,” Holmes said. “At the same time, those aren’t easy decisions, I’m sure, I don’t really know all the details behind the scenes. To make those big decisions, there’s got to be some kind of growth had. And sometimes, it can be a little bit uncomfortable and you have to trust the direction they’re wanting to go.”
Holmes, 32, in his first season in Queens and first as a full-time starter, went 12-8 with a 3.53 ERA and 1.30 WHIP and a career-high 165.2 innings pitched.
The man who dressed as Santa Claus for Thursday’s party may have company in the rotation from the two youngsters who served as his elves at the party in Jonah Tong and Brandon Sproat.
While Holmes has lost a number of teammates this offseason, he is getting a reunion with former Yankees teammate Luke Weaver, who agreed to a two-year, $22 million deal to swap boroughs and bullpens.
“Luke’s great. He’s got some spunk to him, som character. He’s got a good energy to him,” Holmes said. “Luke’s obviously had a lot of success. I’m happy to se him rewarded for it. Obviously happy to play with him again. We get along really well — he’s a good friend. To see him make the trip over here and to get to be his teammate again is going to be great.”
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
