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Holmes had a $12 million player option, so he always seemed likely to decline that after two solid seasons as a starting pitcher. A fractured fibula limited him to 101 1/3 innings this season, but he posted a 3.29 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, and 18.6 percent strikeout rate for the Mets and Cubs. He will likely be sought after as a groundball specialist who can round out a rotation. His fantasy value will hinge on the defense that is playing behind him.

Holmes allowed five hits, walked three and struck out three. He’s not exactly ending the season on a high note, having allowed 19 earned runs with a 15/15 K/BB over 19 2/3 innings in his final four starts. Still, he has a nice 3.29 ERA for the year anyway. He was probably in line for a Wild Card start, but he’s definitely opened the door to be bypassed, assuming that Kevin Gausman is ready to pitch.

Holmes dealt with plenty of traffic on the basepaths, handing out five walks while only notching four strikeouts. It was his second meltdown in his last three starts after giving up a season-high eight runs to the Marlins back on September 6. It’s extremely challenging for fantasy managers to trust Holmes when he wraps up the regular season with a home matchup against those same Marlins on Thursday.

The runs all came on Ryan O’Hearn’s homer in the sixth. Holmes continued on afterwards and loaded the bases before being replaced by Jacob Webb. Fortunately, Webb stranded the runners, though those runs would have been unearned as a result of Nico Hoerner’s error early in the inning. Holmes struck out six and walked four. He’ll pitch in Cincinnati next weekend, making him a decent option in mixed leagues.

Holmes gave up six hits, walked three and struck out two. He fell to 6-7 with the loss. Holmes had been excellent in his first five starts with the Cubs (1.55 ERA). He has a 2.83 ERA on the year. Holmes is lined up to face the Pirates at home next weekend, where he’ll look to bounce back against the team that drafted him in the ninth round of the 2011 MLB Draft.

Holmes gave up five hits, walked two and struck out eight. He improved to 6-6 with the win. Holmes dominated the Brewers while the Cubs scored nine runs while he was still in the game, leading to an easy victory. Holmes allowed four runs in his first start with the Cubs, but has since allowed only one earned run in 25 innings (0.36 ERA) over his last four starts. He has a 2.09 ERA this year. Holmes is lined up to face the Marlins on the road this weekend.

It’s another impressive start for Holmes, who scuffled in his debut with the Cubs and has been outstanding since that effort. He allowed just two hits — both singles — and he struck out five against two walks. He’s allowed just one run over his last three starts over 19 innings, and that’s lowered his ERA to a 2.26 on the season. Holmes has basically the perfect defense playing behind him, and he’s taken advantage of it thus far. He’ll have a tough test Monday when he faces the Brewers.

Holmes didn’t have his best velocity today and wound up with just one strikeout, but he was again effective. After struggling some in his first start back from a fractured fibula, he’s allowed one run and seven hits over 12 innings in his last two starts. His next start will come against a Diamondbacks team that nearly traded for him earlier this month.

He allowed just one hit -- a poke from Jose Fermín in the sixth -- and left after hitting 80 pitches while walking Jordan Walker. Holmes is lined up for a nice start in Seattle next week. It looks like he’ll be a useful 12-team starter down the stretch despite the low strikeout rate.

In his first start in nearly three months since suffering a fractured fibula, Holmes allowed six hits, walked two and struck out one in two trips around the Royals order. Jac Caglianone got to him both times, homering in the first and then doubling and scoring in the third. Holmes did at least do a pretty good job of getting most of the rest of the Royals to hit the ball on the ground. He might have another shaky start or two this month, but he’ll probably be somewhat useful in mixed leagues the rest of the way. He’ll face the Cardinals next.

After nearly three months off, Holmes will make his return and his Cubs debut in a start tonight against the Royals.

Chicago manager Craig Counsell confirmed that Holmes will not require any additional minor league rehab starts. The tandem of trade deadline acquisitions will get the ball later this week when the Cubs head to Kansas City for a three-game series that gets underway on Friday.

Holmes shores up Chicago’s starting rotation depth issues, joining veteran Kevin Gausman as the club’s big-time trade deadline moves. The 33-year-old impending free agent is on the cusp of returning to the majors after fracturing his fibula back in mid-May. He’s looked sharp in a pair of recent minor league rehab starts and should be ready to make his Chicago debut later this week.

This is a big one. Chicago came into the trade deadline desperately seeking starting pitching help and they’ve seemingly came away with Holmes in addition to veteran Kevin Gausman. They paid a steep price to land the impending free agent as Rojas is one of their better infield prospects. The emergence of Pedro Ramírez as an everyday option at the highest level seems to be what made him expendable. Holmes looked sharp in a pair of recent minor league rehab outings and should step into Chicago’s new-look rotation by mid-August, if not sooner. Taylor feels like a throw-in, but he’s been sizzling-hot at the dish lately and provides the Cubs with a lefty-mashing bench option for the home stretch.

All of those teams besides the D-backs have already acquired starters in deadline deals, but Holmes comes with the added bonus of potentially being very valuable out of the pen in October if he isn’t needed as a starter. A deal should happen.

Of course they are. Holmes is a command-first pitcher with a deep pitch mix who can attack all quadrants of the strike zone with different speeds and shapes. Oh, and he can eat innings. He’s the perfect fit for the Brewers. Holmes pitched 5 1/3 innings for High-A Brooklyn on Sunday to stay stretched out, and he looks ready to return from the 60-day injured list after fracturing his fibula on a comebacker early this season. If Holmes were to join the Brewers, that would likely push Shane Drohan or Brandon Sproat out of the rotation.

That rehab outing is conditional on whether he’s traded before then. Holmes is presumably ready to jump back into a contending team’s rotation for the final two months. However, that’s only if he’s dealt, which he acknowledged is pretty likely. He also divulged that there haven’t been any contract extension talks with the Mets. The odds seem extremely high that he’s on the move prior to Monday’s deadline, but it’s never a guarantee. The 33-year-old is coming off a fractured fibula that put him on the injured list back in mid-May.

Murray notes that the White Sox, Dodgers, Rays, Rangers, Diamondbacks and Phillies were among teams in attendance for Holmes’ minor league rehab start for Low-A St. Lucie earlier this week. The 33-year-old, who is coming off a fractured fibula that put him on the shelf back in mid-May, tossed four scoreless innings while sitting in the low-to-mid 90’s with his fastball. There are a plethora of teams looking to upgrade their rotations at next week’s trade deadline and Holmes would make a ton of sense as a fallback option for clubs that miss out on the Tarik Skubal sweepstakes.

There were scouts from multiple teams in attendance, according to MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo. Holmes hit 94 mph on his fastball and struck out four while scattering three hits and a pair of walks during the 59-pitch outing. The 33-year-old should be an attractive trade target for contending teams searching for rotation help at next week’s trade deadline. He’ll likely make his next start in the majors, either with the Mets or somewhere else, later this week.

With abysmal weather expected to slam the northeast, Holmes will head south to make his likely final rehab outing in front of a plethora of scouts and evaluators from contending teams. The 33-year-old is expected to throw roughly 60 pitches in this outing and could return to New York’s rotation later this week. It’s also theoretically possible he’s on the move before that occurs. He’s been working his way back from a fractured fibular that put him on the injured list back in mid-May.