The 2026 season has been a dreadful one for the New York Mets. They got off to a slow start, which led to manager Carlos Mendoza being fired. At the trade deadline, they moved players such as Clay Holmes and Freddy Peralta to contending teams.
Peralta went to the Tampa Bay Rays while Holmes joined the Chicago Cubs. However, the Mets almost had another deal in place for Holmes. On Foul Territory, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic confirmed a report from Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic that the Diamondbacks had a deal in place to land Holmes.
“They thought they had a deal for Clay Holmes, but it fell apart when one of the players going back to the Mets flagged his medicals,” Rosenthal confirmed. “So, the Diamondbacks didn’t get a starter, and they badly needed one. They’re still waiting for Corbin Burnes and for Zac Gallen.”
New York Mets Almost Had Different Deal to Move Clay Holmes at Trade Deadline
The Mets ultimately may have lucked out by nixing this deal. If what they were getting back in return had significant risk, president of baseball operations David Stearns was smart to back out of the deal.
However, it’s not like they got a whole lot from the Cubs in terms of quantity. Holmes has a player option for 2027, but likely won’t pick it up, which means he could return to free agency after 2026 is over.
In exchange for Holmes and Tyrone Taylor, New York landed infield prospect Jefferson Rojas. At the very least, they got something for him, which is better than picking somebody up that they were concerned about medically.
It isn’t the first time a signing or a trade has fallen apart because of the Mets flagging certain medical issues. Back in 2022, after the San Francisco Giants backed out of their agreement with Carlos Correa due to his medicals, the Mets swooped in and signed him, only to also flag his medicals and ultimately watch him go back to the Minnesota Twins.
This ultimately is different because it’s a trade involving a Major League pitcher, but the Mets at least didn’t get nothing. In terms of quantity, it wasn’t much, but Rojas was one of the Cubs’ top prospects and ultimately landing him is better for the Mets as they assess the future instead of ultimately settling for a pitcher that could have some health problems in the long run.
Arizona Diamondbacks Missed Out on Clay Holmes
Had Arizona landed Holmes, they could have gotten exactly what they needed. They have several starters on the injured list right now that they are waiting for to return. Adding some certainty would have been a good idea.
Instead, they’re left to bank on what they have. In the end, the Mets got the better side of the would-be deal by not making the trade and ultimately pivoting to find another deal available for Holmes.
The Cubs didn’t have to give up more than one player, but the Mets brought back some value.
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