Mets clearly attempting to troll Yankees with Opening Day starter decision

The pitching situation in New York City is down bad. The Yankees lost Gerrit Cole for the season and Luis Gil is out for at least three months. Clarke Schmidt is injured, too. The Mets are currently without Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas in addition to multiple bullpen injuries.

At the very least, though, the Yankees have Max Fried, Carlos Rodón and Marcus Stroman. While Rodón and Stroman aren't exactly ace material, they also aren't David Peterson and Griffin Canning. There's name recognition and legitimate experience in the Yankees' rotation.

The Mets have very little of that, and their second-best pitcher might be a converted reliever. Remember him? Yeah, Clay Holmes is essentially the Mets' No. 2 starter behind Kodai Senga. Wild times.

Though many figured Senga would be the shoo-in option to start Opening Day at Houston against the Astros, the Mets went ahead and gave Holmes that honor in what could only be a way to further troll the Yankees after stealing Juan Soto from them this offseason.

Senga is starting Friday's spring training game against the Cardinals, so that takes him out of the Opening Day mix, assuming he's going to make another start. Plus, Holmes is somehow the next most prepared arm behind Peterson. Senga has only thrown two innings this spring vs. Holmes' 9 2/3 and Peterson's 10 2/3.

Mets clearly trolling Yankees by starting Clay Holmes on Opening Day

How else are Yankees fans supposed to view this? First, the Mets overpay Holmes in the offseason after he led MLB in blown saves. Then they convert him to a starter when he hasn't assumed that role since his rookie season in 2018. Then he somehow climbs the ranks in the rotation after injuries pile up and he (admittedly) logged an impressive spring. We will say, it did play out nicely for them to get a jab in, so we can't fault them for that.

It's very "Yankees fans" to make this about ourselves, but it's hard to not feel personally attacked by it. The signing was one thing. The apparent successful transition was another. Now Opening Day starter after not serving as a full-time starter since 2017? Time to give us a break.

On the other hand, we're sure opposing fans will have something to say about the Yankees' decision, which also came on Friday.

Yankees name Carlos Rodón Opening Day starter for 2025 vs Brewers

Boone also added that Max Fried will start Game 2. The Yankees will see what they have with the current group before making decisions to explore outside the organization. It's an objectively better situation than the Mets', so we hope they enjoy the troll job before the Astros tee off on Holmes.

Injuries aside, the Mets had more qualified options to pick over Holmes. They made this decision with intent. We'll see you for the Subway Series.