The report says New York Mets right-hander Clay Holmes most likely will not require surgery for a fractured right fibula but is not ruling the option out. Holmes told reporters before Sunday’s Subway Series finale that the club is still gathering medical opinions and that, while surgery “doesn’t look that way,” nothing is off the table at the moment.
Holmes said any operation would be intended to install reinforcement in the leg and that his return will depend on how the bone heals. The report says the typical healing timeframe is four to six weeks but could vary. Holmes added that the training staff is still trying to collect as much information as possible.
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza told reporters Holmes will not be cleared to begin a throwing progression until he is pain free and receives additional imaging confirming the bone has healed. Mendoza said Holmes will need a spring-training-like buildup before returning and suggested the team would not use the one-knee-on-a-chair method to get his arm going in this case.
The report says Holmes suffered the fracture when a 111.1-mph comebacker off the bat of Spencer Jones hit his leg to start the fourth inning. Holmes compared the moment to a spring-training injury in 2020 when Nelson Cruz struck a ball that fractured the same fibula. According to the report, Holmes felt able to apply pressure and continued after a trainer visit, worked out of a bases-loaded jam by getting Aaron Judge to fly out and then began the fifth inning by striking out Cody Bellinger before walking Jazz Chisholm Jr., ending his outing after 4 1/3 innings. The report notes he faced seven batters after absorbing the comebacker and that it was the shortest outing of a season in which he had entered Friday’s game with a 1.86 ERA and had twice or more pitched into the seventh inning in several starts.
The report says Holmes’ injury adds to the Mets’ lengthy disabled list and that his future with the club is unclear. Mendoza said the team will decide on a rotation replacement after Sunday’s game, with options including moving Tobias Myers or Sean Manaea from the bullpen, calling up a starter or adjusting starts for Nolan McLean, and the club is weighing its choices if its postseason position changes.
