After shining vs. Great Britain, Holmes departs Classic to rejoin Mets

JUPITER, Fla. -- Mets pitcher Clay Holmes returned from a brief but effective stint with Team USA in the World Baseball Classic on Thursday, removing himself from the tournament due to his need to prepare for the regular season.

While Holmes could have remained in Houston to continue pitching in the tournament, Team USA officials could not guarantee him the workload he needs to build up for the season. As such, Holmes and Mets officials agreed that he should return to camp.

“We’ve got to get his pitches where they need to be,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “It was hard for Team USA to guarantee -- especially where they’re at, where every game is pretty much an elimination game -- it’s hard … to guarantee the number of pitches that we are asking him to get. Not an easy spot for managers now in the WBC.”

Holmes appeared in just one WBC game, throwing three scoreless innings Saturday in relief of Tarik Skubal during a 9-1 win over Great Britain. He threw just 38 pitches in the outing, 28 for strikes.

While Team USA would likely have used Holmes again had he remained with the club, it could not assure him a workload of 60-65 pitches, which is where the Mets need him to be at this point in spring. As such, Holmes opted out of the rest of the tournament. Matthew Boyd of the Cubs did the same amidst similar circumstances. Team USA will replace both pitchers on the roster before the competition’s knockout rounds begin on Friday.

Once Holmes initially agreed to pitch for Team USA, Mendoza said, the conversations were “fluid” regarding how much and how often he would take the mound.

“It’s always tough,” Mendoza said. “They want to represent their country. Especially once you get there, and you get the whole experience, the atmosphere and how intense it is. But also being responsible and understanding that he’s got to prepare for his season.”

Holmes, 32, is locked into a roster spot as a member of the Mets’ six-man rotation. He made a team-high 31 starts last season, finishing second on the club with 165 2/3 innings after converting from bullpen to starting work.