Colorado Rockies: Time to pounce on Greg Holland?

On Friday, one of the many transactions from around league came out of St. Louis, where the Cardinals announced that they are parting with someone the Colorado Rockies know well.  The Cardinals announced that they are designating for assignment veteran reliever and Rockies’ former closer Greg Holland.  The move raises the question, should the Rockies pounce on the opportunity claim Holland?

This past winter, the Rockies tried to re-sign Holland to a multi-year contract but thanks to the advice of Holland’s agent, Scott Boras, Holland declined and the Rockies ended up signing Wade Davis.  The decision backfired on Boras (Thank You, Scott) and Holland as the reliever market never materialized and Holland waited until opening day to sign the largest ever one-year contract for a reliever at $14 million.

This season, Holland’s numbers have been ugly.  In 32 appearances, he compiled a 0-2 record, 7.92 ERA, giving up 22 runs in 25 innings and recording 0 saves in 3 chances.  The late signing, along with a hip injury, that landed him on the DL for almost a month, and his lack of effectiveness kept his workload down for most of the season.

The 3-time All-Star and 2015 World Series champion has some great career numbers that could be attractive to many suitors.  In his 8 year career, he has a 2.93 ERA, 181 saves, including a NL best 41 with the Rockies last season, 1.19 WHIP, and a 2.58 FIP.

What is really attractive for the Rockies is obviously the fact that he knows Coors Field.  He was a huge contributor in the Rockies 2017 playoff run as his 41 saves last season set a franchise record.  If the Rockies happen to pick him up, he would be reunited with Wade Davis, who was the foundation of back to back World Series appearance for the Kansas City Royals in ’14 and ’15.

What might deter the Rockies from acquiring Holland is that they have already picked up two other relievers, with the trade for Seunghwan Oh and signed Santiago Casilla and could move on to other needs.

Also, keep in mind Holland has been bad, as in, atrocious this season.  Teams still in the playoff race (sort of) typically do not give players with a $14 million contract their outright release.  That is how bad he has been.  And don’t forget what month is coming up…August. Last August with the Rockies, Holland was 1-4 with a 13.50 ERA with 3 saves in 6 opportunities.

A Greg Holland acquisition could be a low risk/high reward for the Rockies with little cost to the organization, as they would only have to pay Holland the pro-rated league minimum salary (which is about $200,000).  It will be very interesting to see if they make an attempt to pick him up in the coming days or what other teams might be interested.