New York Mets make a decision on Saturday’s starter

The Mets will have Clay Holmes start for them on Saturday against the Marlins.

Sep 16, 2025; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Clay Holmes (35) delivers a pitch during the first inning against the San Diego Padres at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

With their starting rotation in shambles heading into the final weekend of the regular season, the New York Mets have decided who will start for them on Saturday.

Speaking with reporters ahead of Friday's critical matchup against the Miami Marlins, manager Carlos Mendoza announced that Clay Holmes will start for New York tomorrow in the second game of their series. Mendoza was also asked if Sean Manaea would be available out of the bullpen or start in the series finale on Sunday, with the second-year skipper simply stating, "We'll see."

Carlos Mendoza says that Clay Holmes will start for the Mets tomorrow pic.twitter.com/thfqQhFaNM

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 26, 2025

New York's plans on who would start after Brandon Sproat on Friday were certainly in flux leading up to this series against Miami. Notably, both Holmes and Manaea appeared out of the bullpen on Wednesday and pitched an inning of relief during the Mets' 10-3 loss to the Chicago Cubs.

Holmes, who's in the first year of a three-year, $38 million deal he signed with the Mets last offseason, has been one of the team's most stable starters after converting into the role for the first time since 2018.

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In 32 games (30 starts) this season, the right-hander is 11-8 with a 3.66 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, and 127 strikeouts across a career-high 159.2 innings. Holmes, however, has seen his more-than-regular usage as a starter this year catch up to him over his last several outings.

Over his last 15 games (13 starts), the 32-year-old has gone 3-4 with a 4.61 ERA and has not pitched more than five innings in a start since August 28. His struggles with consistency and going deeper into games as of late have resulted in the Mets utilizing Holmes as a piggyback pitcher during two out of his last three appearances. Holmes was used in tandem with Manaea on September 16 against the San Diego Padres and on September 21 against the Washington Nationals.

Aside from their three young rookie pitchers (Nolan McLean, Jonah Tong, and the aforementioned Sproat), the Mets have seen their veteran starters struggle mightily.

Manaea has endured a disappointing and injury-plagued second season in Flushing, going 2-4 in 14 games (11 starts) with a 5.80 ERA in 59 innings. Kodai Senga's decline in command and velocity since returning from the injured list in July led to him being optioned to Triple-A this month, with his return to the big leagues this season in doubt. And their once-ace of the rotation, David Peterson, has posted a woeful 8.07 ERA during his last seven starts after being named to his first All-Star Game this year.

The Mets are now hoping that Holmes can give them a much-needed quality start tomorrow against their division foes, as they maintain a one-game lead for the third and final NL Wild Card spot. If New York can hang on, they would make postseason appearances in consecutive years for just the third time in their history (the others being 1999-2000 and 2015-16).

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