MLB: Market Heating Up for Greg Holland?

A few years ago, Greg Holland was one of the most dominant closers in the MLB, but his stock took a hit after an injury-riddled 2015 season. Even so, teams are now starting to inquire about his services in hopes that he can get back to his old form.

Former Kansas City Royals closer Greg Holland was one of the top relief pitchers in the MLB a few years ago, now after suffering a significant tear in his right arm and having Tommy John surgery, he may be soon get a shot to return to the major leagues.

After a couple of all star seasons in 2013 and 2014 where his ERA was under 2.00 and he averaged over 13 strikeouts per nine innings, Holland had a disappointing year in 2015. Not only did his earned run average rise over 2 runs per game, but he also suffered a serious injury to his right arm which forced him to miss the Royals run to the World Series.

This left Kansas City in a precarious situation with their 30 year-old closer. Due to his save totals he’s accumulated over his career, Holland was set to earn a significant raise in arbitration for the 2016 season. The team also had Wade Davis, an all star in his own right, who was probably the best closer in baseball during his time holding down the ninth inning for the Royals.

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Kansas City made the decision this past offseason to non-tender their 2007 10th round pick. This allowed Holland to be free to sign with any team in the offseason. But there wasn’t much of a market for the right hander because of their were concerns that he wouldn’t be able to pitch this season. Currently, Holland is still a free agent, but that may soon change.

While Holland would most likely be signing a contract for next season because he hasn’t even begun throwing yet in his rehab process, that has not stopped prospective teams from showing interest. According to Jon Heyman, the Atlanta Braves and his old team, the Kansas City Royals, have both contacted Holland about getting a deal done. Heyman states that both teams have made “creative offers”.

Clubs should be creative with how they approach signing the former all-star because of his injury. It is uncommon for a pitcher to sign with a team for the following season, and for teams, a lot of things could change with the makeup of their roster, which makes things slightly more difficult. His next contract will most certainly include a lot of incentives and probably a team option in order to protect clubs if Holland suffers a setback in his rehab.

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This is not to say that Holland wouldn’t be a welcomed addition to a roster. Even though he was not performing at his highest level last year before his injury, Holland was still solid finishing with a 3.83 ERA and still averaging pretty much double digit strikeouts per nine innings. His walk rate did spike and his pitching motion is unusual. Stil,l he will be just 31 years old at the start of next season and he has a great track record in the MLB.

Holland may be a good signing for teams like the Braves who will be looking for some buy-low options as they try to fill out their bullpen or for the Royals because they always like finding value in relief pitching, while also having a ton of familiarity with their former closer.

There are some concerns with how he will recover from the injury because of his odd pitching motion, or if he’ll come back with the same type of dominant stuff. However, according to Jon Heyman, Holland is not expected to ink a deal until he starts to throw off a mound, which should give teams a better idea of what they are getting.

Holland is a typical low risk-high reward option as teams look to build for next year. He may be a good flier if he can come back with similar stuff, but he shouldn’t be relied on to be the type of pitcher he was before the injury.

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What do you think of Holland’s chances of getting back to becoming a quality reliever? Let us know in the comment section below.