New Chicago Cubs pitcher strikes up World Series chatter

The Chicago Cubs bagged one of the top three or four starting pitchers on the trade deadline wish lists of fans and media when they acquired Clay Holmes from the New York Mets.

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It would cost them no. 2 prospect Jefferson Rojas to grab the veteran righty, along with outfielder Tyrone Taylor, but most analysts agree that the deal was a smart one for a Cubs team serious about making a strong postseason run.

On Tuesday, the 33-year-old Holmes talked to media about the move to Chicago and how he’s walked into an absolute perfect fit as a groundball specialist.

Clay Holmes on his perfect fit

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“I’m super excited,” Holmes told reporters. “Obviously, there were a lot of things floating out there. You just look at this team, where they’re at, and for me, this defense is probably one of the best places I could have come.

“People around the league, you know the Cubs have got a really good defense. Obviously you see them play and it’s special. A guy like me, that’s what I do. I’m a sinker ball guy and rely on quality of contact. To be able to trust a defense like that and know that’s what you have behind you is a freeing thing.”

“This is a complete team,” Holmes added. “You have the defense, the lineup, the pitching. Just to see the roster, I mean, it’s an exciting group.”

The nine-year veteran has had a unique major league run, transitioning from an elite closer to a high-end starting pitcher over the last two seasons. The one constant, though, is his ability to generate weak contact and get outs. He’s also managed a 55.8 percent groundball rate since becoming a full-time starter.

Holmes, who will soon be activated from the 60-day IL after recovering from a fractured fibula earlier in the season, is reportedly slated to make his Cubs debut in the upcoming Kansas City Royals series.

The move from the jumbled dysfunction of the last place Mets to the surging, likely playoff-bound Cubs has seemingly energized Holmes, who is now even tossing out a bit of World Series talk.

Energized and hungry

“You want to win your last game,” Holmes said. “You put in all the work, you put in all the preparation, you forge relationships to be a team that wins it at the end. And to know you have a real chance to do that, especially at this point in the season, is energizing.

“I’ve felt it before in my career. I’ve lost a World Series. And there’s that hunger of wanting to be the last team standing.”

Following the Cubs’ deadline haul and after taking the first two games of their series against the back-to-back defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers—one of them against new Dodger Tarik Skubal—a lot of positivity is sprouting up everywhere in Chicago.

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