The New York Yankees aren’t in the playoffs, and given their rich history, that fact represents failure in itself.
However, even if they didn’t quite build quality depth and failed to get the best out of their players, they did some things well.
One of them was making sure the pitching factory was open all year: Yankees relievers had the best ERA in MLB, and most of the contributors were unexpected such as Ian Hamilton, Keynan Middleton, and others.
They did expect great things from Clay Holmes, and he mostly delivered.
The tall righty had a solid 2.86 ERA in 63 innings.
What he did in September was nothing short of amazing, though.
Congratulations to @ClayHolmes21, @MLB‘s AL Reliever of the Month! 👏🔥 pic.twitter.com/9DoOaYDNCT
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) October 3, 2023
As the Yankees published via Twitter, Holmes was named the American League Reliever of the Month in September.
In 12 games that month, he pitched 12 nearly flawless innings, allowing just a single earned run, five hits, and four walks while striking out eleven batters.
He had a 0.75 ERA and a .322 OPS against.
Holmes has been a bit inconsistent at times this year, but he has been mostly great during his Yankees tenure.
In fact, he owns a 2.50 ERA in 154.2 frames in the Bronx.
This came after posting a lousy 5.57 ERA in three-and-a-half seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Holmes is still 30 and theoretically in the prime of his career, so he should remain a fairly valuable member of the Yankees’ 2024 squad.
Runs like the one he had in September are a perfect reminder that he is among the American League’s best ten relievers when he is on.
