The Rockies are “making a big push” to sign free-agent righty Greg Holland and are believed to be close to a deal, reports Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports (via Twitter). Colorado has long said to be interested in Holland, who has reportedly been seeking a two-year deal with an opt-out after the first season of the contract. Holland is represented by the Boras Corporation.
The 31-year-old Holland missed all of the 2016 season as he recovered from Tommy John surgery that was performed late in the 2015 campaign. Prior to that operation, however, he was one of the game’s top relievers and a key factor in the Royals’ return to prominence. From 2011-14, Holland tossed 256 1/3 innings of 1.86 ERA ball with 12.6 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9 with a 44.4 percent ground-ball rate. Holland racked up 113 saves in that time and anchored the Royals’ bullpen in the 2014 postseason, throwing 15 innings and allowing one run with a 15-to-5 K/BB ratio.
A year later, when the Royals won the World Series, Holland watched from the dugout following his operation. He’d pitched to a 3.83 ERA with 9.9 K/9 and 5.2 BB/9 in 44 2/3 innings prior to going under the knife. Incredibly, at the time Holland’s injury was reported to the public, manager Ned Yost suggested that Holland had unknowingly suffered a tear of some degree in his UCL back in Aug. 2014, which would mean he pitched the entire 2015 campaign with a tear in the elbow. The Royals reportedly recommended medical examination on numerous occasions, though Holland declined. Presumably, the tear was minimal in nature at first, but it progressed to the point where it was termed a “significant” tear by the tail end of the 2015 season.
If completed, a Holland deal would be yet another step in what’s been an active offseason for the Rockies. Colorado has clearly been operating in a win-now capacity, as evidenced by the team’s signing of Ian Desmond to a five-year, $70MM contract (which cost them the No. 11 overall pick in the upcoming draft) and the addition of lefty Mike Dunn on a three-year, $19MM deal.
With the Rockies, Holland would likely be the favorite to pitch the ninth inning, though he’ll presumably have to prove healthy and effective enough to push past incumbent candidate Adam Ottavino. That duo and the newly signed Dunn will pair with holdovers Jake McGee, Jason Motte and Chad Qualls to comprise the relief corps for first-year Rockies manager Bud Black. Also in the mix for ’pen jobs in Denver will be lefty Chris Rusin and right-handers Jordan Lyles, Carlos Estevez and Miguel Castro.
Possible Big move
Thank god and not just because of Holland. The move almost SURELY put Qualls on designated for assignment. PLEASE
Best of luck making your come back there
Major league teams are aware of park factors.
I’m sure people still think jake McGee is an all star
Why would anybody choose to pitch in Colorado?
EDIT: Silly question – MONEY
because he needs a pillow year to rebuild his value, beggars cant be choosers.
plus, most GMs are smart enough to adjust. they’ll look at LD%, K%, BB%, exit velo, etc before they look at era or saves
But he’s also been pursued by the Nationals (contender), the Reds (rebuilding team with open closer position), and pretty much every other team out there.
Things like LD, K, and exit velocity will likely be worse in thin air where pitches don’t move like they do elsewhere. Rebuilding value in the most hostile of environments is… illogical… even if other teams can ‘adjust’ the numbers.
Yeah, beggars can’t be choosers, but the expressed interest of nearly every team in baseball sure doesn’t make him look like a ‘beggar’, he has a choice. And out of all of them he’s seemingly choosing the Rockies, where pitchers go to end their careers, not to rebuild them.
Good luck with that “pillow year” in Coors.
More like a “bed of nails” year.
“I know my numbers look bad, but check my road splits” said no high priced free agent ever.
You are hilarious should do stand up…. hurling tomatoes hurt
Maybe because if he succeeds in Colorado he can succeed anywhere,
That and maybe since he is represented by Boras, the Rockies will get a two for one deal and sign Wieters as well.
Have not seen any numbers but…… money talks? My guess is they are the only ones to meet his demands. Guess we’ll see if it goes through.
Same reason they would want to pitch in cincy… especially post Rose era yal suck
Cincinnati’s Great American Ballpark is one of the most prolific hitters parks in MLB. It’s where hitters go to rebuild their careers, and where pitchers seek to leave. It’s a rebuilding team that’s likely to finish under .500 in 2017.
But it’s still a better place to pitch than Coors Field, at least you’re relatively close to sea level and your pitches move like they do everywhere else. And the Rockies are unlikely to finish over .500, either.
Don’t confuse signing Ian Desmond in the worst-received free agent deal of the offseason for a team moving in the right direction.
You are an idiot
Not sure Denver is where I would choose to illustrate my health or ability.
Best of luck to him but is that really the best place to make a comeback?
2017 Sleeper team.
Oh yeah who’s gonna pitch, Gray and Anderson every other day?
Hoffman, Chatwood, Bettis, Marquez…
Rockies are loaded with young starting talent. For the first time in ages, that’s not their problem.
Bettis is solid
So is Chatwood and Lyles
So are Hoffman and Marquez haha
Tough one there. Dodgers and Giants will be right there at the top of the division. I gotta believe the Diamondbacks will bounce back a bit from a dreadful year. I would say the Rockies are a 4th place team at this point.
Giving him 2 years with an opt out would be a very rockies move
Come back to KC for Yordano. #RIPAce
Rockies are finally going for it this could be interesting or diamondbacks 2.0
I’d love for them to trade away top tier talent for a mid to back rotation starter! Shelby v2.0.
The Rays have 3 years of Jake Oforizzi calling your name Colorado.
Holland, reviving your career in Colorado is for hitters, you have it backwards
Not a Rockies fan,but I do like what they’re putting together,still would have been nice to see what Trumbo could have done in that park
Should be an interesting year for him. That slider will be a lot more hitable now…
Dunn, McGee/Ottavino, Holland 7-8-9 would be pretty damn good.
For the 70ish games the Rockies will win….their BP should be pretty solid.
Good luck re-establishing your dominance at Coors lmao
31 comments overstating the Coors Field effect. Yawn. Seems like when the majority of commenters on this site are all “this team/player is crazy to do this!” It ends up working out well. Things aren’t as black and white as many make it out to be
Why is everyone questioning Holland picking Coors? Sounds like the commenters on here scared, Holland is not. By your logic everyone should pitch for SD and not try hard.
There’s Coors, then there’s Great American Ballpark at one end of the spectrum… 27 other teams… and Petco at the other end. Lots of options, including contenders like the Nationals.
He chose to pitch in a hitters park where pitches don’t move for a team that never wins. It’s hard to find logic in this selection, unless it’s a big financial guarantee (which, of course, he’ll opt out of if he does well).
Have the Colorado Rockies ever had a good season? Since 1993 they’ve finished as high as second in their division three times, with 92 (2009) and 90 (2007) win seasons being their best. Not only is a tough place to pitch, it’s an extremely unlikely place to win.
I guess with a history like that you’ve gotta keep buying in and spending money so people keep buying tickets.
So what they should just give up? They’re trying to win, something every team should do now and then because, ya know, that’s the point.
I would say they should rebuild, only they never really had a period of success to rebuild after. Mashing to success with poor starting pitching never works out for any team. It must be depressing to be a Rockies fan. At some point they’ll have to accept that their current path of sustained mediocrity isn’t going to create a winner.
I think they need to re-focus on acquiring guys who can pitch at Coors, as hard as that is. I don’t think they’ll contend until they do that. All the sluggers the have in their lineup doesn’t make up for a weak starting rotation that won’t get them anywhere near the playoffs. And the bullpen can only partially offset the weak rotation.
Their starting rotation isn’t that terrible and they are trying to get pitchers who can pitch well at coors. It’s just hard to find those.
The Rockies are a decent team with a front office that is doing everything it can to harm that. They make so many questionable moves