Jason Burgos
Team USA just lost an impact member from their pitching staff ahead of a big game in the quarterfinals of the World Baseball Classic after the New York Mets demanded he be sent back to Spring Training.
Team USA is feeling a lot of pressure before the start of the elimination rounds of this year’s World Baseball Classic. Following a surprise loss to Italy earlier this week, the United States needed the Italians to beat Mexico on Wednesday night to avoid heading home early from the tournament.
Nevertheless, they are expected to beat Canada in their quarterfinal game and get one step closer to winning their first WBC title in close to a decade. However, it seems they won’t have two-time All-Star Clay Holmes for their matchup with Canada and any other games in the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
NY Mets demand Clay Holmes return from World Baseball Classic
“Clay Holmes will return to the Mets from the World Baseball Classic and pitch in a Grapefruit League game tomorrow,” MLB Network’s Anthony DiComo reports. “The Mets wanted him back because Team USA could not guarantee him the workload he needed to build up for the season.”
Despite Team USA having four games during Pool Play, Holmes has only taken the mound once. That came during their win over Great Britain last week when he tossed three scoreless innings and struck out six.
With Holmes set to again be a part of the NY Mets starting rotation in 2026, it is understandable that the organization feels he is not getting used enough to be on plan for the start of the season in a couple of weeks.
It is a key drawback in the WBC for American fans, because MLB teams are prioritizing their goals over those of Team USA. So now the US club will be without a meaningful reliever for some big matchups over the next few days.
