Mets' Clay Holmes takes off for World Baseball Classic on a high note

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — In other contexts, they were rivals. But not for a frenetic stretch in 2023, when Jose Altuve played for Team Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic, and Carlos Mendoza, then a bench coach with the Yankees, served that same role for his home country.

“I remember [Altuve] being in the on-deck circle, telling me this is way better than Yankees-Astros,” Mendoza said at Clover Park Sunday with the Mets participating in the WBC either gone or preparing to leave later that day. “And this is Jose Altuve telling me this in the middle of the game. That goes to show you how intense it is] and the meaning for every player, for all of us who get to experience it. That’s what I told those guys before they left. Make sure you enjoy it because it’s something that you will never forget.”

The Mets have 18 players in the World Baseball Classic, tied with the Mariners for most in baseball (one, Joe Jacques, is part of the designated pitcher pool and will only suit up for Italy if it advances past the first round).

Of those, eight are on the 40-man roster:

Juan Soto and Huascar Brazoban (Dominican Republic), Clay Holmes and Nolan McLean (USA), Mark Vientos (Nicaragua), Alex Carrillo (Mexico), Nick Morabito (Italy) and Jared Young (Canada).

It’s a significant commitment, particularly considering the ill-fated, season-ending knee injury Edwin Diaz suffered while pitching in the WBC in 2023, but it also speaks to how important the tournament is to the players who get to represent their home countries.

Holmes, who pitched a sterling four innings on Sunday, was invited to the WBC for the first time in his career — a nod to the long strides he’s made in his transition from reliever to starter.

It entailed an earlier ramp-up, but Sunday night, he hopped on a plane to Houston with the well-honed arsenal he showcased against the Astros earlier that afternoon — the sinker and sweeper were still his weapons of choice, but a tweaked cutter, thrown harder with less cut, proved effective against both righties and lefties, with a changeup and a curveball mixed in for good measure.

He allowed one run on three hits with a walk and four strikeouts over three innings, and threw 63 pitches — generally a hefty load this early in spring.

And that’s something the Mets will have to consider, both with Holmes and McLean.

“We’ve got to make sure they continue their progression and their buildup,” Mendoza said. “It’s hard for a starter, where, if he’s at 65 [pitches] — [like] Clay [for] example — and then he has an outing where he’s throwing 30-35, pitches, that’s going to set him back.”

The fix there is to stay on top of the progression, and having his starters throw bullpens if they’re not meeting their quotas. But Mendoza and Holmes believe the benefits outweigh any modifications the Mets will have to make.

Holmes was most looking forward to “being in a room full of guys [and seeing] their experience, their stuff and what they bring to the game . . .

“They just play the game a little bit differently than the rest and to have a team full of those guys. I mean, it’s going to be like watching an All-Star team. I’m glad to, for one have them behind me, but just be able to sit there and take it in and watch these games.”

That takes on an added layer for a rookie pitcher like McLean. Though the righthander was tossed right into a (ultimately failed) postseason run, the added intensity of WBC games is a continued learning experience, Mendoza said earlier this week.

“It’s cool to see Nolan’s excitement,” Holmes said. “He’s got a lot of new things ahead of him. It’s cool to see, as a teammate, a guy coming up and experiencing these things. You want to be there with him because for one, you know how hard the game is and to see somebody experience some of this stuff, it’s just as exciting for me as it is for him. This is a guy whose potential is through the roof and to get some confidence from it and be around some guys that are the best in the game and know that he belongs — I think that’s going to be a special experience for him.”

Notes & quotes: The Mets announced their first round of spring training roster cuts. Carrillo was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse while lefties Anderson Severino and Matt Turner were reassigned to minor- league camp . . . Infielder Grae Kessinger sustained a “pretty significant” injury to his hamstring and will be out for at least eight to 12 weeks, though surgery is a possibility, Mendoza said. Kessinger was part of the Mets’ shortstop depth . . . Francisco Lindor, recovering from surgery to remedy a broken hamate bone in his hand, is taking one-handed swings but has not progressed to true baseball activities. If he’s not ready for Opening Day, “we’ve got a lot of guys who can play a lot of different positions, especially at shortstop,” Mendoza said, naming Ronny Mauricio, Vidal Brujan and Jackson Cluff . . . St. John’s men’s basketball will be honoring the life of the late Shannon Forde at MSG Tuesday. It has been 10 years since Forde, the Mets former director of public relations, died of breast cancer.

By Laura Albanese

laura.albanese@newsday.com@AlbaneseLaura

Laura Albanese is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. She's been covering MLB since 2014 after starting at Newsday as an intern seven years earlier.