On Friday night, Clay Holmes faced a major setback when the former Yankees player took a 111.1 MPH line drive directly to the knee while pitching to Spencer Jones, derailing his entire MLB season. The injury sent shockwaves through the Mets camp.

The star pitcher suffered a fractured fibula, and the road to recovery could stretch to at least a few months.

Spencer Jones, meanwhile, appeared genuinely stunned upon hearing the news and didn’t hide his sympathy for his close friend, saying, “Oh, I didn’t know that,” he said quietly. “That’s the first I’ve heard of that. I’m sorry. He’s a good friend of mine. We work out in Nashville together, so that’s tough to hear.”

Jones might think Holmes harbors harsh feelings toward him, but the reality is different. Speaking to the media, the Mets ace expressed, "I just told him that it's a freak accident, nothing you can do. I'm excited to see him finally get a chance up here and see what he can do here in the big leagues."

The incident unfolded in the fourth inning when Jones was on the plate with Holmes on the mound. The batter, Spencer Jones, railed a 111.1 mph line drive back toward Holmes' lower right leg. It hit hard, but he looked stable at first.

Despite being evaluated by his trainers, Holmes continued the game throwing some pitches in the fifth inning.

That was certainly a mistake from his side as after the game, the Mets announced that he fractured his fibula with the skipper Carlos Mendoza saying he might be away from the game for a long time.

Clay Holmes might not need surgery

After remaining in Friday’s game despite the injury, Holmes admitted he thought he could battle through it, though by the final inning he already suspected the diagnosis.

“When it first hit me, I knew I could still put pressure on it, so I thought I still had a chance to pitch,” he said. “I’ve done this before, back in 2020, and it kind of immediately gave away on me then, so I was kind of hoping this was different.

When asked about surgery, Holmes expressed, "doesn’t seem to be the case."

While it is quite certain that he will have to sit for the entire season, the encouraging part is that Holmes believes surgery can be avoided. Although inserting a plate or screw to stabilize the bone hasn’t been completely ruled out.

With that said, when do you think the former Yankees, star can make a comeback?

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Written by

Suryakant Das

Edited by

Utsav Gupta