St. Louis Cardinals: The Greg Holland disaster could signal the end

The Greg Holland Era with the St. Louis Cardinals proved to be a disaster. Is this a sign that he is washed up?

When the St. Louis Cardinals signed Greg Holland, they thought they had their closer. Holland had led the National League with 41 saves with the Rockies in 2017, making the All Star team and showing no ill effects from the Tommy John surgery that cost him the 2016 campaign. Even though he signed on March 31, the expectation was that he would give the Cardinals the experienced closer they needed at the back of the bullpen.

Instead, Holland was a disaster. He never got on track, dealing with injuries and ineffectiveness all season. With the Cardinals still clinging to hope in regards to the postseason, it was time to make some moves, and understandably, getting rid of Holland was one of them.

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It is a surprising fall from grace from a pitcher that was considered one of the better closers in the game not too long ago. This season, he posted a surprisingly awful 7.92 ERA and a 2.240 WHiP in his 25 innings, notching 22 strikeouts and walking 22 batters. After leading the league in saves last year, Holland did not record a single save with the Cardinals, and blew his three save opportunities on the year.

This season was not just a matter of bad luck or balls finding spaces between the Cardinals defense. Holland allowed a .312/.427/.431 batting line, with their OPS increasing by 236 points over last season. While his 4.56 FIP paints a rosier picture of his performance this season, there is no question that Holland just was not the same pitcher.

Those cracks int he armor had appeared last year as well. He allowed a 28% line drive rate, and had a home run per fly ball rate of 9.9%. Holland also threw only 63% of his pitches for strikes, his lowest mark since his rookie campaign. However, it was easy to disregard those numbers as a product of pitching for Colorado, where even the best pitchers see their numbers become skewed.

Despite these struggles, it is likely that some team will give Holland a chance this year. He was still a solid closer last season, and his struggles could be attributed to his late start. A team could be willing to give Holland a chance, hoping that he can shore up a struggling bullpen.

Greg Holland’s time with the St. Louis Cardinals was a disaster. Another team should give him a chance, but one has to wonder how much he has left.