Cubs acquire more pitching as they land Clay Holmes from New York Mets

[p]In exchange, the Mets are receiving infielder prospect Jefferson Rojas (MLB No. 63). The 21-year-old is slashing .270/.339/.461 with 15 home runs, 57 RBI, and 17 stolen bases in Double-A this season.[/p][p]Chicago continues to grab as much pitching as possible. Other pitchers they've traded for include Kevin Gausman ([a href="https://www.flashscoreusa.com/news/toronto-blue-jays-trade-kevin-gausman/69PoJg4s/" target="_blank"]via TOR[/a]), Braxton Garrett ([a href="https://www.flashscoreusa.com/news/cubs-acquire-pitchers-garrett-from-marlins-zeferjahn-from-angels/hKd4x0ad/" target="_blank"]via MIA[/a]), and Ryan Zeferjahn ([a href="https://www.flashscoreusa.com/news/cubs-acquire-pitchers-garrett-from-marlins-zeferjahn-from-angels/hKd4x0ad/" target="_blank"]via LAA[/a]).[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/holmes-clay/UJgJGnbM/"]Holmes[/a], 33, has a $12 million player option (2027) left on his current contract. The veteran has a 2.39 ERA through nine starts this season, giving up 40 hits and 18 walks while striking out 45 through 52.2 innings. [/p][p]Opponents are hitting just .206 off Holmes this year, the lowest in his career since 2022 (.196). [/p][embed guid="93ac8a37-1720-4626-8e18-721bcefa9e99" url="https://x.com/MLB/status/2084382093602128155?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]The two-time All-Star, who made his career out of being a stellar reliever, was converted to a starting pitching role when he joined the Mets in 2025. Since then, he's 16-12 with a combined 3.26 ERA, 1.255 WHIP, and .223 opponent batting average.[/p][p]Holmes spent his first three-and-a-half seasons with the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/pittsburgh-pirates/tr9K2SqG/"]Pittsburgh Pirates[/a] before the team traded him away to the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/new-york-yankees/SrC4LDIT/"]New York Yankees[/a] in 2021, where he spent the next three years in a dominant reliever role. [/p][p]Tyrone, 32, is slashing .241/.290/.503 with 10 home runs and 28 RBI this season.[/p][infobox id="3e982646-21d3-4baf-ac34-10f731dff476" /]