The New York Mets are MLB’s most obvious seller ahead of the trade deadline, and they have a few players who should draw interest from clubs around the league.
One of those is Clay Holmes, who is currently on a rehab assignment. Holmes suffered a fractured fibula on May 15 that has cost him more than two months of the season.
But as Holmes pitches on his rehab assignment, opposing teams are scouting him as a potential trade candidate. The Los Angeles Dodgers are among the teams with scouts in attendance for Holmes’ latest outing, per The Athletic.
According to two executives who watched his latest rehab appearance on Tuesday night, Mets starter and trade candidate Clay Holmes “looked big-league ready.”
Scouts from the New York Yankees, Chicago White Sox, Philadelphia Phillies, Tampa Bay Rays, Rangers, Los Angeles Dodgers, Arizona Diamondbacks were among those who flocked to Dunedin, Fla., to evaluate Holmes, out since mid-May after a fibula fracture.
Prior to his injury, Holmes pitched 52.2 innings with a 2.39 ERA, 3.23 FIP and 1.10 WHIP while striking out 20.9% of hitters and walking 8.4%.
The right-hander has been a reliever throughout his career, but moved to the rotation after joining the Mets ahead of the 2025 season. In his first year as a starter, Holmes threw 165.2 innings with a 3.53 ERA.
Before that, Holmes was a high-leverage reliever for the New York Yankees. From 2022-2024, he pitched to a 2.85 ERA in 189.2 innings out of the bullpen.
Given his versatility as a starter or reliever, Holmes could be more intriguing to the Dodgers. If all of their starters are healthy, then Holmes easily slots into a bullpen role.
The Dodgers could also just be doing their due diligence and getting a look at a pitcher who they expect to be traded to a contender they might end up facing in the postseason.
Regardless of how genuine their interest is in any given player, it’s very much like the Dodgers under president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman to be in the conversation for anyone available, even if it’s just to gauge the cost of players around the league.
Clay Holmes rehab outings
Holmes made his first rehab start on July 23 and tossed 2.1 innings while allowing two earned runs on three hits.
He followed that up with another start on July 28 and threw four scoreless innings for Single-A St. Lucie. Holmes utilized all five of his pitches and topped out at 94.1 mph.
He is scheduled to make his next start at the MLB level.
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