The 2024 MLB season is the first year since 2014 where there aren’t any teams on pace to win 100 games. This shows that there isn’t a clear-cut favorite to win the World Series and the league is extremely wide open, which indicates that every contender has their flaws.

The one major weakness that the New York Yankees have is their closing pitcher, Clay Holmes. Holmes has blown a total of 12 saves this season, and since June 13, has an ERA of 5.28.

This has been a trend for a few months now, because even when Holmes gets the job done, he still has a tendency to put runners on, always making things interesting. His 1.30 WHIP further proves that point.

One of the main issues with the 31-year-old this season has been his inability to put hitters away with two strikes. Yes, he is historically known to be a ground ball type of pitcher, but not being able to put hitters away has given them the opportunity to make something happen when the ball is put in play, which the opposition has done a lot of against Holmes.

What makes it more frustrating, especially as a fan, is how good he can truly be when he’s on his game, but Holmes’ lack of consistency frequently comes back to bite him. When he was traded from the Pittsburgh Pirates to the New York Yankees back in 2021, Holmes had a 1.61 ERA, a 0.79 WHIP with 34 strikeouts, and only four walks in 28 innings pitched. He was also dominant in April 2022 which earned him the closer role.

Even with Holmes’ struggles, the Yankees still plan to use him in high-leverage situations, because he is still a cornerstone of the Yankees’ bullpen. However, conversations have been raised about possibly moving him into a setup role or someone who enters in the seventh inning of a game, which might make him more comfortable and relieve some pressure.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone recently said the team plans on getting “creative” with the closer situation, Jack Curry of the YES Network reported, which leans towards a closer by committee. Yankees GM Brian Cashman had an opportunity at the trade deadline to go and trade for a legit, solid reliever from the likes of Tanner Scott, Jason Adam, Pete Fairbanks, Lucas Ergec, etc.

Some of the best in-house closing options are Tommy Kahnle, Luke Weaver, or Jake Cousins. In 40 innings this season, Kahnle has a 1.80 ERA with 42 strikeouts. Luke Weaver is sporting a 3.09 ERA with 91 strikeouts in 78.2 innings, and last but not least, Jake Cousins, who has been a major surprise this season, has a 2.39 ERA with 52 strikeouts in 37.2 innings pitched.

There are certainly options that the Yankees can utilize at closer, but moving forward it will most likely come down to matchups and which of the pitchers have the hot hand. This is an important decision for the Yankees because this is a team that is not only in a pennant race but also neck-and-neck with the Orioles for the AL East crown.

For most of Holmes’ career as a Yankee, he has been a very streaky pitcher. If the historic franchise wants to have any chance of winning a World Series, you can’t trust Clay Holmes to be the guy in the closing stages of high-leverage games. He has cost the team way too many games this season, and could potentially be the reason the Yankees do not win a division title and fail to secure a first-round bye.

Holmes can undoubtedly still be a reliable arm out of the bullpen, just in a role that is not the closer. Nonetheless, the Yankees will need him to consistently step up if they want to win a World Series.

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