MLB · P · Chicago Cubs
Clay Holmes
B/T R/R · 6' 5" · 245 lb · born Dothan, AL, USA · age 33 · draft 2011 rd 9 · played P 31 · MLB debut 2018-04-06
Last 14 days (through 2026-09-03): 2 G · 13.0 IP · 0.00 ERA · 13 SO · 0.85 WHIP
326 batters faced scored this season His season card →
Scout’s note
Clay Holmes, a Dothan, Alabama, right-hander drafted in the ninth round back in 2011, has 552 strikeouts across 358 games. His last two MLB appearances produced 13 strikeouts — a burst worth noting even from a 33-year-old reliever.
Note written · FVR scout (GLM-5.2)
What he’s paid
Under contractA market fact, not an engine read: what a club decided about him, on the season before this one. Figures from Cot’s, as of .
- 2026 salary
- $3.82M
- Tax hit
- $3.60M
- Service time
- 7 yr 31 d
- Guaranteed
- $38M
The deal 3 years $38M (2025–2027) — $12.7M a year on average, worked out by us rather than stated on the sheet, and not the same thing as the tax hit above
On the sheet: 3 y/$38M (25-27) · agent Wasserman · 0 / 3 options left
After this season, as the sheet has it
| Season | 2027 |
|---|---|
| Cash | $12.0M |
| Tax hit | $12.2M |
Cash and the tax hit are two different rulebooks and are never subtracted from one another — see the payroll board for his club, Chicago Cubs.
A second set of books
The same contract, read by MLB Spreadsheets (Ethan Hullihen), as of . We keep two sources on this because one source cannot check itself.
- Tax AAV
- $12.2M
- Guaranteed
- $38.0M
- Term
- 3 yrs
What the sheet prices each season at
| Season | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Salary | $13.0M | $12.0M |
A base salary under his own reading, and never subtracted from the cash figure above: a signing bonus lands in one and not the other, so the two disagree on most men without either being wrong. And the sheet does not mark which future seasons are GUARANTEED — a club option and a projected arbitration award are both just a number here, so read past the end of the deal as his forecast rather than as money owed.
Two sources, read a month apart, put this guarantee at the same dollar. That is the check, and it passed.
The tax AAV above is his number under the CBA’s own rulebook, not the average we work out from Cot’s total. On a contract with deferred money the two come apart on purpose — and neither is subtracted from the other.
Collect Clay Holmes
If the signal is right, the cardboard usually finds out later. Current listings:
Clay Holmes cards on eBay →Paid link — as an eBay Partner, FVR earns from qualifying purchases.
Not financial advice. We take positions only after publication — never before. Misses stay on the record.
The Bureau on Clay Holmes
The scouting press, in their own words
The Chicago Cubs' starting trio of Kevin Gausman, Clay Holmes and Matthew Boyd yielded a 0.45 ERA in the 3-game series, allowing just 8 hits in 20 innings, but still lost 2 of 3 games to the Diamondbacks.
Cubs baseball president Jed Hoyer talks here about how and why he landed Clay Holmes. In full pod he talks Cabrera, Steele, Brown, Brewers, PCA, Skubal, more. We talk NYY offense YouTube: https://t.co/WQRmVFECHG Apple: https://t.co/VttXfkSekR Spotify: https://t.co/zyucR067WZ https://t.co/hwRidHgf4h
Clay Holmes, Robbie Ray, Brady Singer, maybe Mize the primary SP rentals still on the board, with the Brewers, Phillies, Braves, Red Sox among possible buyers. It's a buyers' market with the SP.
Umpire favor
-3.8 net runs over 13 graded games — the zone cost the umpire more than it gave, on balance.
The line
Bio & season lines: MLB StatsAPI · refreshed nightly · abbreviations →