Covid-19 shutdown gave Pirates pitcher Clay Holmes time to patiently recover from broken foot

Arm strength and athleticism matter for anyone trying to overcome adversity or even make it in the major leagues with a sound body.

But there is something to be said for intelligence and patience, and Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Clay Holmes has shown evidence of both.

He earned a 4.0 GPA and was valedictorian at Slocomb (Ala.) High School. Plus, he learned patience from his father, Oliver, a pastor at Place of Grace Church in Dothan, Ala.

It’s no wonder Holmes took his misfortune — a Nelson Cruz groundball that fractured his right foot in a spring training game Feb. 29 against the Minnesota Twins — and turned it into a fortunate break.

Not even the coronavirus pandemic that shut down baseball nearly three weeks later could curtail his recovery. In fact, it helped.

“I really didn’t have to rush things,” he said. “For my foot health, it was good. Time was definitely on my side this time. I got to work on some stuff I brought into spring training. It turned out to be a very positive thing for me.”

He said he was facing hitters for more than a month before the start of spring training 2.0.

“The foot came along really nicely,” he said. “As soon as I got my arm built up, I started facing hitters to start to get some more realistic work in and some live at-bats in.”

Perhaps Holmes handled the injury so well because he is no stranger to broken bones.

“I feel like, growing up, I’ve had a lot of broken bones,” he said. “Yeah, with two brothers, playing rough, I don’t know whether it was falling off bikes or trampolines. Typical boys doing stupid things. I think I had a wrist a few times, a broken leg.”

While most of his teammates went home during the pandemic, Holmes stayed in Bradenton, Fla., to work with bullpen coach Justin Meccage.

Meccage has been a member of the Pirates organization since 2011 when he was pitching coach with the State College Spikes. That’s where he met Holmes, who started his pro career with the Spikes in 2012 after the Pirates drafted him in the ninth round in ‘11.

Meccage, the assistant to former pitching coach Ray Searage the past two seasons, worked closely with Holmes through much of his recovery.

“Yeah, Mecc and Oscar (pitching coach Marin) and our (physical therapists) were really good about developing a plan,” Holmes said. “Maybe a week in, I started doing some throwing just on my knees, kind of without my feet.

“Then, when I was able to put some pressure on my foot, I was doing some throwing in a boot. Just enough to keep my arm in shape, so on the back end it didn’t take as long coming back.

‘They transferred me eventually out of the boot. It was really good to be able to work with Mecc, stay in Florida with him. I feel like we got some really quality work in.

“There were some things I was trying to accomplish within my delivery, specifically with my back foot, in spring training. It just gave me a chance to put even more focus on it and hammer some things out.”

Holmes’ first two seasons with the Pirates produced high ERAs (6.84 and 5.58) and too many walks (59 in 76⅓ innings). But Meccage calls Holmes “an interesting guy with unbelievable weapons.”

“I think we’re seeing this guy in the strike zone as much as we’ve seen him,” Meccage said of Holmes’ recent efforts. “We’ll see what happens when the lights really turn on.”

Manager Derek Shelton said he has yet to focus on a specific role for Holmes, who started 114 games in the minors but only four of 46 appearances for the Pirates.

He is not a candidate to fill a spot in the Pirates’ 2020 rotation, but Shelton might decide to keep 16 or 17 pitchers on his Opening Day roster, increasing Holmes’ chances of retaining his bullpen role.

“He’s healthy and grinded through it,” Shelton said. “I think the time he spent with Mecc down in Bradenton was vital for that because not only was he able to do his rehab, he was able to be with Mecc.

“I’m just happy he’s progressing forward.”

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