As the Pirates entered the offseason with 13 arbitration-eligible players on their roster, it wasn’t imminently obvious what they would do with some of them.
Right-handed reliever Clay Holmes was a perfect example. The 27-year-old pitched all of 1 1/3 innings last season before hitting the injured list with a right forearm strain. That one outing, which came in the Pirates’ opening day loss to the St. Louis Cardinals, was a scoreless one, but that came on the heels of two straight seasons with ERAs over 5.50.
So, with that bumpy track record and a recent injury to boot, the Pirates non-tendered Holmes last Wednesday, then re-signed him to a minor league deal two days later.
Holmes, now healthy, says he’s happy to have re-signed, even though he is aware that there will be some pressure to prove himself again come spring training.
“I think first thing is I want to be with the Pirates,” Holmes said Thursday. “I’ve built my whole career, I’ve invested in a lot of relationships and put a lot of time and effort within this organization. So I knew I wanted to be with them, and I think the best opportunity for us as a team and for me personally next year would be remaining with the Pirates.
“... And if I show up to spring and I’m healthy and I’m looking good and show the things that I’m capable of doing, I don’t really think this roster move will be much of an issue. I believe I can still help the team, and they believe it, as well. It’s just a matter of going to spring and showing that I’m healthy and doing the things that I’m capable of.”
Initially, it did seem possible for Holmes to return in 2020. Immediately after the game with the Cardinals, Holmes says he just felt a little sore. Even about two weeks later, Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk spoke with media and only said that they were going to be cautious with Holmes.
Eventually, it became clear that the right-hander would need more time to recover, though. He was transferred to the 45-day injured list on Aug. 11 and didn’t pitch again the rest of the season.
“That’s kind of the thing, it wasn’t clear cut to begin with,” Holmes said. “It was one of those things where it’s not like I felt something on one pitch or anything like that. I was a little bit sore after the first outing, then started to feel a little something and obviously was super cautious about it. Shut things down and evaluate where I was at, and if it had been a normal season, I think that I could have done a rehab, protocol, shut down, rest it and been good to go, but because of the shortened season, it kind of complicated things.”
Holmes does still feel confident in his abilities, though. While it may seem a bit ridiculous given the sample size, part of that stems from last season. He felt his scoreless, 22-pitch effort against the Cardinals was powered by some of the best curveballs he’s thrown.
Holmes feels that the pitch, if the improvement is real, can help him stay in better counts and ultimately put hitters away. Unlike most pitchers in the offseason, Holmes was still throwing bullpen sessions up until about a week ago as part of his rehab throwing program. He even made a trip to the American Sports Medicine Institute in Birmingham, Ala., to get feedback on his pitching motion, in hopes that he can perfect his delivery to stay healthy and consistent in the future.
“It kind of puts even more of a fire in me to overcome these things because I know what I can be,” Holmes said. “That’s kind of where I’ve been, and it’s one of those situations where you keep pushing and pushing and one day, you’re going to break through, and I feel like that’s kind of where I’m at. I have just had a couple unfortunate things happen, but I’m not going to let it deter me because I know what I can provide to the Pirates and this team.”
Mike Persak: mpersak@post-gazette.com and Twitter @MikeDPersak
First Published: December 11, 2020, 8:03 p.m.