The Yankees escaped with a dramatic comeback win on Opening Day thanks in part to Juan Soto’s heroic outfield assist, throwing out Mauricio Dubon at the plate in the bottom of the ninth to deny what would have been the tying run.
The throw put an exclamation point on one of the more dramatic Opening Day wins in recent Yankee memory, but for Keith, it also covered up potential concerns at the back of the bullpen.
“Clay scares me, man,” Keith said of closer Clay Holmes. “I know they want to say ‘He’s our closer,’ but he scares me. It’s gonna be tightness in your chest every time he goes into a close game.
“They survived this one, but they’re not gonna survive every one when he’s on the mound.”
Holmes blossomed into an All-Star in 2022 before command issues and injuries made for a tough ending to the season, and while he pitched to a 2.86 ERA in 2023, there were the same bouts of command hiccups sprinkled in between. On Thursday, he allowed three hits in one inning of work, but survived to get the save. Keith isn’t sure he will be able to escape like that every time, and the Yanks may need to consider keeping the situation at closer fluid.
“It’s gotta be a temporary thing,” Keith said. “I think he’s the closer for now, and they could be looking for another closer by the deadline. If he has a couple shaky outings, it’s not locked in that he’s the guy.”