Major League Baseball’s offseason continues to draw close to the annual Winter Meetings, scheduled to begin on Dec. 9 in Dallas, Texas. While the Winter Meetings tend to generate a lot of activity, teams appear to be waking up from their offseason slumber. To wit, the Mets added veteran right-hander Frankie Montas on a two-year contract on Sunday night.
Who’ll be next to sign? Below, you can find all of Monday’s moves, news, and notes.
Holmes drawing interest as a starter
Clay Holmes NYY • RP • #35 ERA 3.14 WHIP 1.30 IP 63 BB 22 K 68 View Profile
Former Yankees closer Clay Holmes is drawing free agent interest as a starting pitcher, reports the New York Post. Holmes, a free agent, came up through the minors as a starter, though he has been a reliever exclusively since 2019. In 2024, longtime relievers Jordan Hicks and Reynaldo López signed free-agent contracts to start. Former reliever Seth Lugo finished second in the Cy Young voting in his second year as a starter.
Holmes, 32 in March, led MLB with 13 blown saves in 2024, but also had a 3.14 ERA with more strikeouts than innings pitched, and the second-highest ground ball rate in baseball. He runs into control problems at times, something that won’t work well as a starter, but Holmes throws two fastballs (sinker and four-seamer) and two different sliders (traditional slider and sweeper), and has shown the aptitude to pick up new pitches, tweak existing pitches, and self-correct when things go awry.
Mets interested in Buehler
Even with Montas in tow, the Mets continue to have interest in free-agent right-hander Walker Buehler, according to the New York Post.
Walker Buehler LAD • SP • #21 ERA 5.38 WHIP 1.55 IP 75.1 BB 28 K 64 View Profile
That shouldn’t come as a surprise since Buehler is viewed as an intriguing upside play thanks to his track record and arsenal quality. Indeed, the Post characterizes the market for Buehler as being