Colorado Rockies: another update on Greg Holland

On Tuesday, Thomas Harding of MLB.com answered some questions in his mailbag and one of them was about Greg Holland resigning with the Colorado Rockies.

It seems like discussions between the Colorado Rockies and their 2017 closer Greg Holland have dragged on forever. Originally, it was reported at the Winter Meetings that the two sides were close to a deal. A few minutes later, those reports were reported to be overstated (we have the full report when it happened here).

Since then, it has been a bit quiet on the Holland front since then but Thomas Harding of MLB.com addressed it on Tuesday in his post-Christmas mailbag.

When asked about an update on Holland, Harding says that he believes that Holland “remains the favorite to return as the Rockies’ closer.”

According to Harding, numerous people who are familiar with the two sides say that Holland has expressed interest in returning to Colorado. Harding also notes how when Holland signed with the Rockies, he signed late in January (January 28 to be exact) so this would not be in unfamiliar territory for either side.

Holland’s 2017 stats

Holland had 41 saves (tied for second most in the major leagues and tied for the most in the National League with the Los Angeles Dodgers closer, Kenley Jansen) in 61 appearances.

His ERA of 3.61 (or an ERA+ of 139). He allowed 6.3 hits, 4.1 walks, and struck out 11.0 batters per nine innings and was one of four All-Stars to represent the Rockies in Miami at the All-Star Game.

For much of the season, though, he pitched better than those numbers. In the month of August, his ERA was a mind-boggling 13.50 and a opponent batting average of .333. If you don’t include August, the highest ERA that he had in a month was in July when he had an ERA of 2.25 and his highest opponent batting average was .214.

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Final Thoughts

Harding also notes that even if Holland doesn’t sign, there are other free agent options out there. Wade Davis is one option that Harding mentions (and an option that we here at Rox Pile have mentioned numerous times but primarily in this article). Another option he mentions is Addison Reed (who is another option that we have mentioned as well, primarily in this article).

There are also some external options that would require a trade to get. Alex Colome of the Tampa Bay Rays is one option. Considering that they have already traded their franchise player, third baseman Evan Longoria, to the San Francisco Giants, they are obviously are willing to sell pieces.

Other options that come to my mind are Kansas City Royals closer Kelvin Herrera, Cincinnati Reds closer Raisel Iglesias, New York Mets closer AJ Ramos, and San Diego Padres closer Brad Hand. With the latter two, we mentioned them as potential relievers that could be traded to the Rockies back in July in this article.

Next: Is free agent first baseman Logan Morrison the key to a successful offseason?

Overall, the Rockies have plenty of options to go to for their 2018 closer but it seems like Greg Holland and the Rockies want it to be him for the long term.

UPDATE: Colorado signed Wade Davis to a three-year deal on Friday morning. You can read all about that here.