NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 Clay Holmes felt like a lot of Mets fans watching Pete Alonso, Edwin D\u00edaz and Brendan Nimmo leave New York.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a little sad seeing those guys go. They\u2019re great players. They\u2019ve been great Mets for a long time, really connected with the fan base,\u201d the pitcher said Thursday at Citi Field after playing the role of Santa Claus at the team\u2019s annual kids holiday party.<\/p>\n
Entering his second season with the Mets after leaving the Yankees, Holmes will be joined in Queens next season by two other recent Yankees closers: Devin Williams and Luke Weaver.<\/p>\n
Alonso left for a $155 million, five-year deal with Baltimore<\/a> and D\u00edaz for a $69 million, three-year contract with the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers<\/a>. Nimmo was traded to Texas<\/a> for All-Star second baseman Marcus Semien.<\/p>\n After failing to make the playoffs, retooling New York reached a $51 million, three-year contract with Williams<\/a> and a $40 million, two-year agreement with infielder Jorge Polanco<\/a>. The Mets have a pending $22 million, two-year deal with Weaver<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cTo make those big decisions, I\u2019m sure there\u2019s got to be some type of \u2014 some growth had, and sometimes it can be a little bit uncomfortable,\u201d Holmes said. \u201cI guess you just have to trust the direction they\u2019re wanting to go.\u201d<\/p>\n Weaver began exchanging texts with Holmes ahead of a Zoom meeting with the Mets scheduled for Wednesday. Then Weaver texted Holmes again before the Zoom.<\/p>\n \u201cHe said, \u2018Well I just decided \u2014 I kind of verbally agreed to it,\u2019\u201d Holmes recalled. \u201cIt went fast for him. There\u2019s a lot of things he really liked. Happy to have a friend here.\u201d<\/p>\n A 32-year-old right-hander, Holmes agreed last December to a $38 million, three-year contract, and the two-time All-Star reliever shifted to the starting rotation. He went 12-8 with a 3.53 ERA in 31 starts and two late September relief appearances over 165 2\/3 innings \u2014 95 2\/3 innings more than his previous big league high.<\/p>\n Holmes slumped to a 1-2 record and 5.45 ERA over eight starts from July 2 through Aug. 12.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was maybe a couple moments where I just felt some of the accumulation of the workload and stuff, but I think the biggest positive for me was I was able to kind of adjust to it and kind of come out on the other side pretty strong,\u201d Holmes said. \u201cI liked the way things finished.\u201d<\/p>\n His wife, Ashlyn, sat beside him in a Mrs. Santa costume, handing out presents, and they were joined by rookie pitchers Jonah Tong, Nolan McLean and Brandon Sproat, all in green elf outfits.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a first for me,\u201d Sproat said. \u201cI don\u2019t know how I look in it, probably ridiculous, but it\u2019s pretty warm.\u201d<\/p>\n Holmes said Edgar Suero, the Mets\u2019 manager of team travel, helped recruit the pitcher and his wife for the part.<\/p>\n \u201cSo now I know my go-to if I want to convince her to do something,\u201d Holmes said with a smile.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n