For a few hours on deadline day, it looked like Clay Holmes was Arizona-bound. The Mets and Diamondbacks were deep enough into talks that both sides swapped medical records around 2 p.m. Central, roughly 3 hours before the 5 p.m. deadline slammed shut. That's about as advanced as a trade gets before it's actually announced.
Then it just... didn't happen. Per Arizona Republic reporting, the Mets got spooked by the medical records on one of the Diamondbacks prospects who was supposed to be headed to Queens in the deal. Both front offices tried to shuffle the package around with different players to get something across the finish line, but they couldn't find a version of the trade that worked before the clock ran out.
Here's the part that really stings if you're a Diamondbacks fan: Holmes didn't stay put in Queens. Instead, the Mets flipped him and outfielder Tyrone Taylor to the Chicago Cubs for infield prospect Jefferson Rojas. The Cubs happen to be one of Arizona's direct competitors for a National League Wild Card spot, which makes the whole collapse feel a lot worse than a simple deal falling through — Arizona didn't just miss out on a bullpen piece, they watched him strengthen a team they're fighting for a playoff spot against.
Diamondbacks GM Mike Hazen didn't hide his frustration afterward, saying the front office was "very close" on "multiple" deals that ultimately fizzled. "We offered a lot, so all the way to the top of our farm system, etc," Hazen said. "I had to draw the line on the Major League team on some level on some of those asks." Arizona's lone move that actually stuck was a smaller trade for Lars Nootbaar — a far cry from the bullpen reinforcement Holmes would've provided down the stretch.
Holmes had been a hot commodity all deadline day, with reports naming the Diamondbacks, Brewers, Padres, White Sox and Braves all circling before things came down to the wire. That kind of market usually means somebody overpays to get it done — instead, the whole thing nearly evaporated on a medical red flag, and the guy everyone wanted ended up somewhere nobody was really talking about.
For the Mets, the Cubs deal at least gets something back in Rojas rather than watching Holmes walk in free agency down the line. For the Diamondbacks, it's a deadline that'll sting for a while — especially every time Holmes takes the mound against them in a Wild Card race they're now fighting a little harder to stay in.