After a year-plus of exceeding expectations as a reliever-turned-starter, Clay Holmes is heading to the Cubs along with Tyrone Taylor. In exchange, the Mets will get infield prospect Jefferson Rojas.
Rojas is ranked as the No. 2 prospect in the Cubs’ organization and No. 63 prospect in baseball on MLB Pipeline. Baseball America ranks him as the No. 99 prospect in the sport. The 21-year-old has spent 2026 with Double-A Knoxville, batting .270/.339/.461 with 15 homers, 19 doubles and 17 steals across 390 plate appearances. He has split time between third base and shortstop.
Holmes, 33, was 4-4 with a 2.39 ERA and 1.10 WHIP on May 15 when a comebacker broke his right fibula in a game against the Yankees. He has been on a rehab assignment since July 23.
After four years in the Yankee bullpen, Holmes’ transition to the Mets starting rotation went as smoothly as anyone could have hoped for in 2025 after he was signed to a three-year, $38 million deal. He holds a player option for $12 million for 2027, so he could be a free agent again in a few months.
Holmes went 12-8 with a 3.53 ERA and 1.30 WHIP last year, made 31 starts and threw 165 2/3 innings, more than doubling his previous career-high of 70. His final start of 2025 may have been his best. With the Mets needing a win to stay alive for the playoffs in the penultimate game of the regular season, he threw six scoreless innings of one-hit ball in a 5-0 victory over the Marlins.
“It’s a must-win game,” he said post-game. “I think at any point whether it’s World Series or the second-to-last game of the regular season, those games mean a lot and you can definitely feel that.
“I think just kinda going into the game, to be honest, it took me back to a little bit last year losing a World Series (with the Yankees) and how bad I want to be a part of (the playoffs) especially with this group here. And I think these games, these must-win games, kinda bring out some of that. And I was happy to go out and just leave it all out there.”
He missed them last year, but Holmes will bring invaluable playoff experience to his new team. He pitched to a 1.35 ERA over 20 postseason relief innings with the Yankees.
As for Taylor, he has been on a tear since returning from the injured list on June 28, batting .354/.436/.875 with seven homers and four doubles over 55 plate appearances. Overall, he is batting .241/.290/.503 with a career-high 116 OPS+ and 10 homers over 159 plate appearances.
