The Blue Jays apparently came close to signing Clay Holmes before he signed with the Mets
According to reports, the Blue Jays were seriously interested in the Yankees former closer before Holmes decided to finalize a deal with the Mets as a starting pitcher for the 2025 season.
According to a report from The Athletic, the Toronto Blue Jays were one of the teams interested in former New York Yankees reliever Clay Holmes before he signed a deal with the New York Mets. -Farkas
The Mets made Holmes an interesting offer since they did not want him in their bullpen but on their starting rotation instead while the Blue Jays were clearly interested to have him as their closer.
As the publication indicates, the Mets viewed Holmes as a starter and plan to use him in that role. It makes sense that the Blue Jays viewed him as a reliever, however. -Farkas
The Blue Jays viewed Holmes as a closer since they already have their plans set for their starting rotation and their bullpen is in need of some serious help which Holmes could have had an impact on.
First, the Jays already have five potential starters in Jose Berrios, Kevin Gausman, Chris Bassitt, Bowden Francis and Yariel Rodriguez. The team has also been connected to top-end free agents like Max Fried and Corbin Burnes, which could force Rodriguez to the bullpen, but we hadn't heard any prior connection to Holmes in that light. -Farkas
It will be interesting to see how Holmes does as a starting pitcher in New York since he has spent his entire career as a relief pitcher and will not have to pitch for much longer stretches.