Call to the pen
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MLB Free Agency: Top Landing Spots for Greg Holland

By Greg Goldstein

Nov 1, 2015; New York City, NY, USA; (EDITORS NOTE: caption correction) Kansas City Royals pitcher Greg Holland (right) celebrates with manager Ned Yost (left) after defeating the New York Mets in game five of the World Series at Citi Field. The Royals won the World Series four games to one. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 1, 2015; New York City, NY, USA; (EDITORS NOTE: caption correction) Kansas City Royals pitcher Greg Holland (right) celebrates with manager Ned Yost (left) after defeating the New York Mets in game five of the World Series at Citi Field. The Royals won the World Series four games to one. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports /
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Honorable Mentions

Nov 1, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon makes a pitching change against the Cleveland Indians in the 6th inning in game six of the 2016 World Series at Progressive Field. MLB. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 1, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon makes a pitching change against the Cleveland Indians in the 6th inning in game six of the 2016 World Series at Progressive Field. MLB. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports /

Chicago Cubs (Closer)

Obviously, the Cubs signaled that they were all in when they traded away some of their better prospects for flamethrower Aroldis Chapman. If you haven’t heard, this worked out for Chicago as Chapman was a key component in an incredible 3-1 comeback in the World Series. Now Theo Epstein must deal with how to keep his trade deadline acquisition. The Cubs have to be looking forward to the inevitable contract extensions they are going to have to give their young stars, so Epstein and his staff may decide that they could look elsewhere to fill the 9th inning role without spending so much money.

Enter Greg Holland. Holland has proven himself capable of handling the pressure that goes along with the closing job, but the risk is that the Cubs don’t have much to turn to if he were to falter with inconsistency or injury. Carl Edwards Jr. and Hector Rondon would be the better options, but they are better off looking at the trade market if they can’t sign a premier free agent closer.

Los Angeles Dodgers (Closer)

Dodgers General Manager Andrew Friedman is in the same position as the World Series champs. With all-star Kenley Jansen testing the open market this winter, there is a clear hole in the back end of Dave Roberts bullpen, except his bullpen is probably worse off without Jansen than the Cubs are without Chapman. This puts extra pressure on the front office to come into free agency and re-sign their cutter-throwing closer. Leaving this role to Holland would be too much of a risk with the uncertainty throughout the Dodgers pen.

New York Mets (7th Inning/Possible Setup Man)

Jeurys Familia and Addison Reed made up one of the most dominant 8th-9th inning combinations in all of baseball. Familia led the league in saves and Reed finished 2016 with an impressive 1.97 ERA. However, a wrench was thrown into their plans for next season as when it was reported that Familia was under investigation for domestic abuse. Last season, Aroldis Chapman missed over a month under suspension for his own case even though he never was charged. This could prove similar to the way Rob Manfred will handle this situation, which means that the Mets need to cover their tracks with the sudden uncertainty in their relief corps. Granted, they may not play much in this market because the front office may not want to spend the type of money others will just for a potential fill-in for a suspension that hasn’t happened yet.

Seattle Mariners (Setup Man)

According to Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports, the Mariners are one of the interested clubs vying for Holland’s services. Now the Mariners have their closer in Edwin Diaz, who really impressed me with the work he did in his rookie campaign. However, this isn’t to say that Holland won’t have an important role for a competitive Seattle team. Behind Diaz, there is some uncertainty. The likes of Tom Wilhelmsen, Nick Vincent and Evan Scribner don’t scream dominance. Even though they are not bad, adding Holland would certainly improve their late game performance. Of course that’s if he is close to the same Greg Holland from 2014. Other teams may spend more money and have a bigger hole, so they may not a prime team for the 30 year-old.

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