Analyzing potential Mets starting pitching replacements following Clay Holmes injury

For the first seven weeks of this trying 2026 season, Clay Holmes was the least dramatic thing about the New York Mets.

He pitched like the ace they needed as the aces they planned for, Freddy Peralta and Nolan McLean, worked through minor inconsistency. He pitched into the sixth inning in seven of his first eight starts, never taxing a bullpen often needed to carry a heavier load as Kodai Senga and David Peterson took their turns.

But Friday night, he succumbed to whatever relentless force keeps pulling Mets onto the injured list whenever this team threatens to start getting in rhythm. The broken fibula he suffered on Spencer Jones’ comebacker will keep him out for “a long time,” according to Carlos Mendoza, though the Mets had no timetable immediately after the game. He had no spin about how the Mets proceed now, either.

“It’s a huge blow,” Mendoza said. “He’s been one of the most consistent guys that we had in that rotation. Yeah. It’s a big blow.”

Logistically, the loss of their steadiest starter in a season that has already required them to tap into minor league depth makes the Mets’ potential climb back to contention even more complicated. They began the year with promising starting pitching depth. By late May 15, they were running out.

Senga is on the injured list. is pitching out of the bullpen, scraping for innings where he can find them and hoping he pitches well enough to prove he deserves more. His bullpen colleague is a former starter, but he has pitched so well that he has been promoted from mop-up duties early to keep-it-close duties recently. His first 10 outings were multiple innings. His last four — all of his work in May — have been one inning or fewer.