Clay Holmes says he is looking forward to pitching in front of the Cubs' stellar defense

CHICAGO (AP) — Clay Holmes is looking forward to pitching in front of all those Gold Glove winners on the Chicago Cubs.

Holmes is joining a new-look staff in Chicago after the Cubs bolstered their rotation and bullpen ahead of Monday's trade deadline . The veteran right-hander and Kevin Gausman, who was acquired in a deal with Toronto on Sunday night, are expected to start this weekend at Kansas City.

The 33-year-old Holmes has a 55.3 groundball percentage in nine major league starts this year, and Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson and second baseman Nico Hoerner each have two Gold Gloves. Center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong is one of baseball's best defensive players at any position, and left fielder Ian Happ is a four-time Gold Glove winner.

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

Holmes and outfielder Tyrone Taylor were acquired from the New York Mets for touted infield prospect Jefferson Rojas. Relief pitcher Ryan Zeferjahn and left-hander Braxton Garrett also came over in two other deals .

Taylor started in left field Tuesday night against Tarik Skubal and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Zeferjahn also was added to the active roster. Outfielder Kevin Alcántara was optioned to Triple-A Iowa and right-hander Jake Woodford was designated for assignment.

Taylor, 32, hit .354 (17 for 48) with seven homers and 14 RBIs in his last 24 games with New York.

“The energy in here is awesome already,” Taylor said. “I feel very welcomed by all the guys. I met a lot of people, so I've got to really lock it in and learn some names. But yeah, it's exciting.”

With Gausman and Holmes joining the team, manager Craig Counsell said the plan is to skip Colin Rea's next turn in the rotation. There was no word from Counsell on any further changes.

Rea “is going to be in the bullpen for the next turn around,” Counsell said. “Past that I don’t know what’s going to happen and we’ll just go from there.”

Javier Assad was on the mound for Chicago on Tuesday night. The Cubs began the day on top of the NL wild-card standings with a 64-49 record.

Holmes has been sidelined by a broken right leg since mid-May. He was 4-4 with a 2.39 ERA before getting hurt.

He made his third minor league rehab start Sunday, throwing 73 pitches over 5 1/3 innings of four-run ball for Class A Brooklyn.

“Feeling good,” Holmes said. “I got six ups and 75 pitches last time. So yeah, I feel healthy.”

Holmes has a $12 million player option for 2027 that he is expected to decline in order to become a free agent. He was an All-Star reliever with the New York Yankees before signing with the Mets ahead of the 2025 season and successfully converting to a starting role.

Holmes said he is open to working out of the bullpen if needed down the stretch or in the playoffs.

“I just love being out there when big outs are needed and whenever that is, I’m all for it,” he said.

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