The Milwaukee Brewers need additional pitching help, and New York Mets righty Clay Holmes needs a new team.
As the Aug. 3 MLB Trade Deadline grows closer, speculation continues to mount regarding which teams will be buyers, which ones will be sellers and where players may end up.
Recently, The Athletic put together its second "Big Board" ahead of the Deadline, which features the top 75-plus players that may get moved. The outlet used a color-coded scale that correlated with its best-guess scenario concerning the likelihood of a player's chance of being moved, with red indicating an unlikely outcome and green indicating a likely one.
The Athletic also highlighted three of the best fits for said player. One of the players on the list is New York Mets right-hander Clay Holmes, and one of the three teams he would be a good fit for is the Milwaukee Brewers.
Why would the Brewers want Holmes?
Before we dive into this, it is important to mention that The Athletic gave Holmes a yellow designation, meaning that his chances of being moved, in its view, are in the middle.
Beyond being a fit for the Brewers, Holmes was also linked to the Chicago Cubs and the Toronto Blue Jays. However, there are multiple reasons why Milwaukee would be most beneficial for both parties.
Firstly, the Brewers currently own the best record in baseball after Monday’s win over Holmes’ Mets. Their postseason future is shining bright, but they need reinforcements on the mound.
As it stands, Milwaukee has eight pitchers on its Injured List. Four of them, including Brandon Woodruff and Quinn Priester, are done for the season.
The Brewers acquired Lance McCullers Jr. from the Houston Astros on July 15 to bolster their pitching staff, but McCullers is also an injury-prone player. Therefore, another pitcher, such as Holmes, can be helpful.
In terms of health, Holmes has not had an easy season. He broke his leg on May 15 in an outing against the New York Yankees when a line drive hit him. On July 18, Holmes was sent on a rehab assignment to the Brooklyn Cyclones, the High-A affiliate of the Mets.
When healthy, Holmes has been solid this season. In nine starts, he has a 4-4 record with a 2.39 ERA. The Athletic refers to him as a "cost-controlled ground ball maestro," and with a fairly friendly $12 million player option for the 2027 season, he could be someone Milwaukee keeps.
Why the Brewers can work for Holmes
Simply put, the Mets are a disaster, and Holmes is not sniffing the playoffs with them if things continue to go the way they are.
The Mets constructed the second-largest payroll in Major League Baseball, only to have the fourth-worst record in the sport. At 33 years old, Holmes is not getting any younger, and a chance to meaningfully compete has a ticking clock.
Therefore, a change of scenery with the Brewers, where he can make an immediate impact and contribute to a true contender, can only be beneficial for an aging pitcher.
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