ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Clay Holmes won't be the automatic choice as the closer for the New York Yankees in the short term after giving up a game-ending grand slam to the Texas Rangers for his major league-high 11th blown save this season.
Manager Aaron Boone said Wednesday the club will consider several options, Holmes included, while continuing to support the two-time All-Star coming off a rough outing.
Rookie Wyatt Langford's grand slam followed a single by Carson Kelly and consecutive walks to Josh Smith and Marcus Semien, giving the Rangers a 7-4 victory on Tuesday night.
“In the short term, we’ll kind of just get a little creative with it,” Boone said before the series finale against the Rangers. “I feel like he’s throwing the ball really well in a lot of ways. Last night it was certainly a little off and they got to him. But the reality is he’s really not that far off from being the dominant guy we know he can be.”
Langford fouled off a full-count slider to stay alive before hitting a hanging 85.8 mph slider 407 down the left-field line.
Holmes' blown saves — which have come in 40 chances — are the most for the Yankees since Dave Righetti had 13 in 1987, tying the team record set by Goose Gossage in 1983.
Boone stuck with Holmes after the right-hander's previous blown save Aug. 18 against Detroit in Major League Baseball's Little League Classic. Holmes had five scoreless outings with three saves before the loss to the Rangers.
“At this point in the season, where the race is and playoffs, it’s about winning,” Holmes said. “I think everybody’s on that same page. Whatever it takes for us to go out and win. Roles and definitions at this point, they are what they are.”
The closer-by-committee decision from Boone came with the Yankees in a tight race with Baltimore for the best record in the American League and the AL East lead. The Orioles were a half-game ahead to start the day.
Right-hander Jake Cousins has a save and a 2.73 ERA with 45 strikeouts in 30 innings. Luke Weaver, another right-hander, is second to Holmes in appearances with 54 and has finished seven games.
Left-hander Tim Hill is 3-0 with a 2.34 ERA in 27 relief outings but has just 13 strikeouts in 34 2/3 innings. Tommy Kahnle, a 35-year-old righty, has a career-best 2.00 ERA in 42 appearances.
“Trust a lot of guys,” Boone said. “Just how it matches up is kind of how we'll go. And that's how we'll go into every night. I feel like there's a lot of guys down there throwing the ball well and capable.”
Rookie Luis Gil and Clarke Schmidt, starters both coming off the IL, could be developed into closing options.
“Never say never," Boone said. "The reality is probably someone’s going to go to the ’pen from the starting rotation at some point, and I wouldn’t rule out necessarily anyone.”
Holmes spent time in Boone's office before the game.
“Just kind of checking in and making sure, kind of giving him my thoughts on certainly the short-term look at things,” Boone said. “But also just making sure he's good and seeing where he's at. The thing about Clay is, he's such a solid person and has such a good foundation. It's why I think he handles this role so well, the ups and downs that inevitably go with it, the pressures that go with it.”
Holmes is 2-5 with a 3.27 ERA with 19 walks and 60 strikeouts in 55 innings. The 31-year-old with 73 career saves has had trouble putting away batters with two strikes.
“I think just with the noise around it of late and having some struggles, but again I think it’s important to differentiate last night compared to what I would call the ball not bouncing his way in a lot of these games where it hasn’t been far off at all,” Boone said. “Just with losing the strike zone a little bit last night, not probably getting his sinker to where he wanted last night at times, and just felt like this was the right thing to do going into today.”
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Yankees going with closer by committee after Clay Holmes' latest blown save
Yankees going with closer by committee after Clay Holmes' latest blown save
New York Yankees relief pitcher Clay Holmes pitches against the Texas Rangers during the ninth inning of a baseball game Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Jeffrey McWhorter)
NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Donald Trump's campaign is using GoFundMe to rally its network of deep-pocketed backers and everyday donors around the survivors of his July assassination attempt and Hurricane Helene's destruction, bucking more traditional avenues of emergency relief.
The two high-profile fundraisers — organized by the Republican nominee’s national finance director — have drawn more than $14 million. They do not violate campaign finance laws, according to legal experts. Nor is the campaign allowed to pocket any proceeds for its own political ends; a GoFundMe spokesperson told The Associated Press that the majority of the Butler, Pennsylvania funds have been disbursed.
But the use of a crowdfunding platform marks an unorthodox response to crises from a political campaign. Never before has a major party's presidential candidate turned to the for-profit company — which usually features desperate appeals for help covering tuition costs or medical bills — to mobilize their base toward outside charitable causes.
“It’s pretty unusual and actually quite odd,” said Brett Kappel, a longtime campaign finance attorney with Harmon Curran who has advised both Republicans and Democrats.
It's more typical to see candidates contribute campaign funds to IRS-approved nonprofits during natural disasters, Kappel said. He pointed to Federal Election Commission filings that show U.S. Sen. Tim Scott's 2022 campaign gave to the American Red Cross after Hurricane Ian hit South Carolina.
Trump campaign spokesperson Brian Hughes said the motivation arose from “the president wanting to help find a way for his supporters to give as much direct support as they can.”
The finance team only got involved because of their “great expertise in working with large accounts," according to Hughes, and “not one penny of this funding is going anywhere but to those impacted.” Hughes said more than $6.5 million of the $7.7 million raised for organizations helping with Hurricane Helene recovery had been disbursed as of October 11.
“The president has an amazing movement of supporters,” Hughes told AP. “With the experience in Butler generating millions of dollars of support, he saw the same opportunity to be a direct conduit for a philanthropic effort from his supporters.”
Longtime Trump associates, conservative celebrities and right-wing groups gave tens of thousands of dollars. Bill Ackman, the CEO of the Pershing Square investment firm who endorsed Trump shortly after the assassination attempt, donated $100,000 for hurricane relief. UFC President Dana White also pitched in $100,000. Republican U.S. Sen. Rick Scott said on X that he donated $50,000 from his congressional salary for the Butler, Pennsylvania victims. Also contributing was The Heritage Foundation, the conservative think tank behind Project 2025.
GoFundMe collects a transaction fee of 2.9% plus 30 cents for every donation to cover credit and debit charges. Its global Trust & Safety team has been communicating closely with organizer Meredith O’Rourke to ensure the safe distribution of donations from the Butler, Pennsylvania, page, according to a company spokesperson. O’Rourke also provided a verified distribution plan, the GoFundMe spokesperson told AP, which the company routinely requires in cases where organizers are withdrawing money on behalf of other recipients.
It’s not advisable for campaign finance officials to run crowdfunding pages “at the same time they were writing your money for your camp,” according to Andrew Herman, a Washington lawyer specializing in campaign finance. Because online crowdfunding is less regulated, he said, it would’ve been “more palatable” to direct supporters toward a recognized nonprofit.
“But people get into trouble when they try to ascribe rationality or any degree of what we would generally consider best financial practices to campaigns,” Herman said.
“There’s no black letter law that says they can’t do this,” he added. “Should they? Of course not.”
The bulk of the Pennsylvania disbursements were made earlier this month and more payouts will come while the page remains active, according to Hughes. The “vast majority” has gone to the families of the three people shot, he said. Some funds also compensated a local crane rental company after the owner said he lost business when the ensuing police investigation left him unable to retrieve equipment he'd donated for the rally.
Money raised for Hurricane Helene victims has gone to four nonprofits. Samaritan’s Purse spokesperson Gabrielle Bouquet said the Christian humanitarian aid organization is grateful for Trump's "steadfast support of the work we do in Jesus’ name." Bouquet declined to share the exact amount of the donation.
Water Mission, a Christian engineering nonprofit that builds safe water solutions in disaster areas, confirmed that the Charleston-based ministry had also received funds. Public relations director Gregg Dinino did not specify the total.
Mtn2Sea Ministries, which delivers generators and supplies in the immediate aftermath of weather events, said on Facebook that it received $25,000 on Monday. The disaster relief group posted that the proceeds were used to buy South Georgia businesses' gift cards because “the best way to help those in need is to get resources directly into their hands."
It makes sense that Trump's team gravitated toward crowdfunding, said Benjamin Soskis of the Urban Institute's Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy. The campaign “has often been premised on a suspicion of institutions,” he said, and GoFundMe “drew some of its attraction by serving as an alternative to institutional charitable giving.”
But crowdfunding also brings less accountability, Soskis said. Crowdfunding pages don't have the same disclosure requirements as public charities that must divulge their finances in annual tax filings.
Soskis said Trump’s checkered philanthropic ventures have likely brought increased levels of scrutiny. A judge fined Trump $2 million in 2019 for using his since-dissolved charitable foundation to advance his interests.
“It is a combustible dynamic when you combine campaigning and charitable giving,” Soskis said. “The extra dynamics of crowdfunding and Trump’s own history with philanthropy itself adds more fuel to that fire.”
Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP’s philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.
FILE - Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump gestures as he concludes speaking at a campaign event at the Butler Farm Show, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
