Clearly, the New York Yankees saw some potential in Clay Holmes when they traded for him, and they’ve helped him realize it in a way the Pirates never did.
Needing bullpen help last season, the Yankees added Holmes in a swap that sent Pittsburgh Diego Castillo and Hoy Park. At that point, Holmes had already appeared in more games than in previous seasons, and had yet to put up any remarkable numbers, even if there were promising flashes.
He’s since become one of the top late-inning relievers in the game, having allowed just three runs (only two of which were earned) across 36 appearances (37 innings) this season with 15 saves and seven holds.
It’s been a truly incredible rise for the 29-year-old, who will return to Pittsburgh for the first time as a visitor Tuesday when the Yankees begin a quick two-game set with the Pirates at PNC Park.
In his weekly appearance on 93.7 The Fan, Pirates manager Derek Shelton was asked what he looks for when he sees a former player take off elsewhere.
"The usage and what they’re doing, and that’s where the self-reflection comes in of maybe we didn’t use his weapons the way we should have," Shelton said "The Cook & Joe Show". "We have to make sure that we go back and look when guys go other places and people make adjustments to what those adjustments are, why they made those adjustments and then reflect on what our process was in terms of the conversations about the adjustment or the adjustments we didn’t make."
The Holmes trade wasn’t the only swap for a pitcher the Pirates and Yankees made last year, either.
The Yankees acquired Jameson Taillon before the 2021 campaign as he came off a missed 2020 campaign due to a forearm injury. He’s bounced back nicely with the Yankees, and sits at 9-1 with a 3.32 ERA ahead of Tuesday’s scheduled start against the Bucs.
Taillon was injured during Shelton’s first year as manager, then was traded in the offseason. Still, he and Shelton are good friends.
“I love the guy, still have a really good relationship with him," Shelton said. "Unfortunately, in the time I managed here J-Mo never pitched, he was hurt that entire year. But to your point, he was a leader in our clubhouse, and he is someone that I am still in contact with, I still root for – I’m not going to root for him tonight, obviously – but this is a guy that’s grinded through two Tommy John’s and worked really hard. And that was a tough decision for us because of what he meant in the clubhouse and the pitcher that he was.
“But it’s very similar to the Joe (Musgrove) trade where we have to be able to acquire talent back, we got Contreras in that trade and sometimes those are challenging. But in terms of my relationship with J-Mo, yeah, we still have a good relationship. He left me a couple of really good bottles of bourbon in Tampa, which I appreciated, and I’m going to have to leave him a nice gift on this trip probably.”
Ultimately, it will be a while before we really know how the Pirates fared in those trades. Conversely, the Yankees must be thrilled with their early returns.
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