Pirates' matchup against Clay Holmes serves as a reminder of lingering failed trade

The Pirates have already lost the first two games in the series against the Mets. In game three, Pittsburgh will face a familiar face in Clay Holmes, who they traded back in 2021 for two prospects that were both out of the organization by the end of 2022. This matchup will remind fans, as if they needed another kick, of just how much of a failure this trade was.

This is Holmes first year as a starting pitcher and he has been quite reliable. Transitioning from the bullpen to the rotation is not easy, and the Pirates are seeing that first hand with Carmen Mlodzinski struggling in his new role.

Across eight starts, Holmes has posted a 2.74 ERA with a FIP of 2.61 and a K/9 of 9.28. He's been pretty impressive, and it will be tough for the Pirates to avoid the sweep with their bottom-of-the-league offense.

Looking back on the initial trade to the Yankees, it is quite upsetting to see where Holmes is at in his career, having broken out in different ways with both teams from New York. That further emphasizes how emphatically the Pirates lost that trade, even though he was not that strong in Pittsburgh.

Pirates' matchup against Clay Holmes serves a reminder of the horrible trade with Yankees in 2021.

Hoy Park made his Pirates debut shortly after being acquired in the Holmes deal and was a below-average hitter. He posted a wRC+ of 72 with an OPS of .638 and three home runs. The following year, he improved slightly, but was still not a piece to keep, given his 77 wRC+ and .648 OPS.

Fortunately for the Pirates, the Red Sox were willing to trade for Park in 2022. Inmer Lobo was the young southpaw acquired in exchange, and he has been very solid in his short professional career. He has yet to have a season with an ERA over two. Even while Park was a bust in this deal, he did add a little value to the organization.

Diego Castillo was the other piece to this trade, and he was a part of the Opening Day roster in 2022. He belted 11 home runs with a .633 OPS and posted a 71 wRC+. He was not great, and that marked his only year in Pittsburgh, as they would go on to trade him that offseason.

He was sent to Arizona for Scott Randall, a right-handed pitcher in the minor leagues. Randall actually had a solid year in 2024 across three levels of the Pirates organization, but he decided to retire.

The Holmes trade was a complete failure, and may not have set the organization back, but represented a major wasted opportunity. This trade was just like many other trades during the Ben Cherinton regime: an utter failure.