Holmes, McLean ready for intense Classic competition -- and to hang with Kersh

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- Clay Holmes and Nolan McLean are at different points in their lives and careers, yet as they prepared to join Team USA, the pitchers gave identical answers when asked which of their World Baseball Classic teammates they are most excited to be around in the coming weeks.

“It's hard to not say Clayton Kershaw,” McLean said. “I've probably watched so many of his games growing up because he's been around for so long. It's going to be really cool to get to know him.”

It’s hardly a surprise that a 24-year-old with 44 days of big league service time would be pumped to share a clubhouse with Kershaw, a three-time National League Cy Young Award winner and the 2014 NL Most Valuable Player. But the 32-year-old Holmes -- who is entering his ninth Major League season -- seemed just as eager to spend time around Kershaw, who retired after the 2025 World Series before committing to Team USA in January.

“Just to have him around, him wanting to do this and to be on the same team as him will be pretty cool,” Holmes said. “Him having the desire to still want to pick up the ball again and be on this team, I think it's going to be a special thing. I think he brings a lot; he's done a lot and has a lot of experience, and so it will be cool to share a locker room with him.”

While the rest of the Mets’ WBC participants headed out of Port St. Lucie after Saturday’s game, McLean and Holmes departed after Sunday’s 4-3 win over the Astros, heading to Arizona to join Team USA -- though not before Holmes threw four innings of one-run ball against Houston, his final tune-up before temporarily trading in his Mets’ blue and orange for the red, white and blue of Team USA.

“I feel ready,” Holmes said. “Whether you know you're in Spring Training facing a big league lineup or you’re going to face another team in the WBC, you're trying to get outs, and you're doing the best you can.”

Manager Carlos Mendoza, who served as Venezuela’s bench coach in the 2023 WBC, had a simple message for his players competing in this year’s event: Enjoy it.

“It’s something that you'll never forget, just putting on the jersey of your country and just how intense those games are,” Mendoza said. “I remember [Jose] Altuve was in the on-deck circle telling me, ‘This is way better than a Yankees-Astros series.’ And this was Jose Altuve telling me that in the middle of the game. That goes to show you how intense and the meaning for every player, for all of us that get to experience it.”

Having watched the WBC in past years, McLean has an idea of the type of intense competition he’s going to find when he takes the mound. Not that he minds it; the 24-year-old takes the same mental approach into a Grapefruit League outing, so intensity is nothing new for him.

“As soon as a guy steps in the box, my competition starts driving up and up and up,” McLean said. “It doesn't matter if it's on a back field or if it's in a stadium against whoever. I think if you're a true competitor, it doesn't really matter what stage you're on. You want to win. If the intensity is that high, that's something I'm definitely looking forward to.”

Team USA’s roster includes four former Rookie of the Year winners, four MVPs and three Cy Young Award winners, and the group has won nine World Series rings collectively. Nine players have won Silver Slugger Awards, and nine have won at least one Gold Glove.

“I'm definitely interested to meet some of these guys,” McLean said. “It’s a lot of the best players in the world, all in one clubhouse. I think that's really freaking cool.”

Even with such stars as Aaron Judge, Bryce Harper, Cal Raleigh, Paul Skenes and Tarik Skubal headlining Team USA’s star-studded roster, McLean is thankful to have Holmes -- whom he calls “a big mentor” -- with him for this journey. Holmes is equally excited to experience the WBC with his young teammate, who he believes has “all the makings to be one of the best pitchers in the game.”

“First chance of making an Opening Day roster, he's on the USA team -- he’s got a lot of new things ahead of him, which is cool to see,” Holmes said. “His potential is through the roof, so to get some confidence from it and be around some guys that are the best in the game and know that he belongs is going to be a special experience for him, because he does.

“People of that caliber, when you watch them play, they just play the game a little bit differently than the rest. To have a team full of those guys, it's going to be like watching an All-Star team.”