The Reds have returned Rule 5 Draft pick Kyle Holder to the Yankees, according to announcements from both teams. The Yankees subsequently assigned the infielder to their alternate training site.
It was actually the Phillies who used a Rule 5 selection on Holder last December, but they wound up trading him to the Reds for cash considerations in late January. The 26-year-old went on to total 32 at-bats in spring training with the Reds, but despite a solid on-base percentage (.350), he hit for little average (.219) or power (.250 slugging percentage).
Originally a first-round pick of the Yankees, who took him 30th overall in the 2015 amateur draft, Holder hasn’t climbed above the Double-A level yet. He did hit well there in 2019, though, as he slashed .265/.336/.405 with nine home runs, seven stolen bases and a 13.8 percent strikeout rate in 472 plate appearances. But Holder’s at his best in the field, where he has experience at both middle infield spots and third base. FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen wrote after the Rule 5 Draft that Holder “can absolutely pick it at shortstop,” adding he could turn into a defense-first utility player in the majors.
Didn’t holder too long!
:virtual high five:
:return five
Yessss
thanks for the cash, Cincy!
Right?!.. ugh!
Thought he might stick with the Reds for defense alone.
He’s now perhaps a potential replacement for Wade at some point in 2021 and f he hits well in AAA.
Yep, I hope they give him a chance instead of Wade. I get why we have Wade, but it’s time. Let him come up and get the ABs. I’ve watched Holder play in several games live – he’s good. Good enough, imo, to replace Wade without losing anything.
1st round pick, LH bat? Why not?
@Yankee Clipper
I agree, I mean there isn’t much to lose! Wade isn’t exactly a stud and holder at least had past pedigree.
I really like Wade. I think if he could ever get consistent playing time, the hitting would improve. His defense is already very solid, and the speed can be a real weapon.
“You’ve got to know when to Holder, know when to fold ‘em…”
@connfyoozed- “know when to walk away, know when to run”
“You never count your money, when your sitting at the table”
Wade VS Holder
Neither can hit a lick! One has a great glove (Holder) one has great speed (Wade). Depends on which your team needs the most. A little tired of Wade, would rather see Holder not hit. Nice to have the choice though.
@Mickey777- lol. You mean to tell me you don’t like Tyler “all glove no hit” Wade? Kyle Holder is weird. He can hit the long ball once in a while and bat you like .225 and play outstanding defense. Just not going to hit much from the left side. Might as well as just stick with Wade or give Thairo Estrada a shot instead.
Wade has never had a chance really. He’s obviously not a superstar with the bat, but it’s hard to improve from the bench.
As the article says, Holder hasn’t played above AA yet. Give him some time and go from there. This decision doesn’t need to happen today.
Either way, Wade probably doesn’t finish the season as the Util unless he starts hitting more.
Thank you for not protecting Whitlock. He’s gonna dominate in the Sox bullpen.
The same guy that has yet to pitch above AA? Okay good luck. Not hard to crack the Sux pitching staff this year tho. Any warm bodies can help at least until ERod and Sale are back
I mean, he has little competition out there!
Holder was regarded as the best defensive player in the ’15 draft. The bat was always a question mark. He’s a pretty good athlete too, man.
Played some point guard in college. Hoops was his preferred sport, so his development is going to be uneven.
Here’s the question: better than Wade?
Pretty similar to Wade. Both super athletes who wound up in baseball. I feel like these two should be playing slot WR for Belichick instead of baseball.
Lol
Yeah, they do sorta have that Welker/Edelman vibe don’t they.
Think it’s a toss up between wade and holder. Might be an interesting competition between those 2 and estrada for utility INF. I’ll give the edge to Estrada.
The Yanks are – at best – a mediocre defensive club. I wouldn’t mind having an elite glove on the bench. As such, I’m interested in Holder.
It’s a valid question, but is it necessary to know before providing the opportunity to Holder? Here’s why: we have quite a few options with right around the same overall talent level, give or take on O or D. For instance, off the top that could step in, we got Holder, Velazquez, Hauver, Smith, Park, and Estrada…. I feel like, with that, we should* be able to navigate a replacement successfully and even improve the club.
Throw in Holder’s “defensive wizardry” as I saw in a recent article, and if Torres struggles, late-inning D!
Yeah.
Let’s see how Gleyber looks. But I can see that.
Gleyber is going to have a big year. We know the bat’s there, but he was also rated as a plus defender at SS in the minors, with the main question being if he’d outgrow the position. He hasn’t. The Yankees, however, have kind of bounced him around. He’s a hard worker, he sees the money being thrown around to other SS’s, so I expect a big year from him at the plate and in the field.
All of those players and the Yankees weren’t even going to carry a backup Infielder.
All the injuries to Judge/Stanton/Hicks over the last few seasons have traumatized Cashman and Boone to the point where they only wanted Outfielders on the bench
That was posturing.
But I’m sure Cashman appreciates your input.
Posturing for what? None of them flipped a magical switch and all of a sudden learned how to hit. Was he hoping another team would call and say “Brian you need a backup Infielder, please take one of ours. On the house”
i have a serious question is nyy farm good enough to carry the team this year like last year. i ask this not in disrespect but in ignorance (i don’t really follow nyy). last season nyy got great performance from there kids but it was also in a short season, can they repeat that in a full 162 especially if there big bats are down for a long time.
RSox: I think your latter statement doesn’t align with your initial. Forgive my confusion, but, how does your last sentence make sense in light of your original, former assertion?
Brodie-Bruce: it’s actually a very good question, and one that I see any serious Yankee fan contemplating with each injury. In short, yes, they always seem to gather enough of the right talent (whatever that is) to continue down the path of perennial pennant contenders.
But how? Who knows….. it seems to be that each year young players come out of nowhere and capitalize on opportunities given in MLB, at just the right time, and mash. Is Cash a genius, or is it pure unadulterated luck? No idea.
Maybe it’s the culture because many have commented on that, particularly as they approach and enter the postseason…. It is an incredible dream come true for many professionals …. this year Dietrich, Tallion, Kluber, have all commented on the feeling of seeing the pinstripes hanging in their locker! They photographed them and sent pics to their family.
Posturing for trade value @rsux.
Is “duh” appropriate or nah?
@yc i will give nyy one thing they only go after players that can fit there mold just like my cards. as an outsider observing i feel like this year your guys depth is really gonna be tested. when healthy your lineup is scary but last few years some of them big bats have been missing. big question is can the kids keep you afloat till july do you can make some moves for oct.
i also wanna note i’m not saying nyy are gonna suck there a formidable team if healthy but they also have a lot of key players with health issues
Which none of them have
Brodie: Yeah I hear you, and I think you’re right. Many said the same last time and we made it through, amazingly, with a winning season. I didn’t take what you said as that Yanks were going to suck, you seem genuine, not like those other dummies just trying to troll out of boredom.
Truth be told, it may be a season like this one that finally teaches Cash/Hal that there is no saving. We are what we are and spending is how we get there…. I don’t like it, I don’t think that’s the answer, but we are kind of in a weird cyclical momentum with the Yanks, the perpetuation of which yields the desired results. So, we keep feeding it.
I could envision a scenario, especially after last season’s incredible injury streak, where the depth just fails. Everyone would get it – can’t control injuries.
Hate to think that way though, man. Both our organizations come from long lines of prideful teams, players & fans. We pressure ourselves more to do well than any Mutts fan can pressure us! But could it happen, well, yeah. Only so many times are the Boys going to be able to soak up that spotlight and jam some homers to carry the team, right?
@yc thank you i try to call em like i see them, i like to to consider myself as a true bb fan, yes i have my team but let’s say nyy and lad (or any combo of top teams in mlb) and my birds are off i’m going to watch the game because i know it’s gonna to be a good game. only thing that is scary for nyy is do they have enough quality depth (which i can’t answer honestly because i don’t follow nyy) but i will say this if 1/2 the guys nyy picked up in the offseason pan out there a alcs/ws team.
I coached Kyle in a basketball rec league in San Diego when he was in 9th grade. I drafted him cause he was left handed and fearless going to the hoop. We won the championship that season, great athlete, terrible kid to coach with red neck type parents to boot. I’m sorry about his brother tho, passed too soon.
Are you serious posting that?
“Red neck type parents” …… lololol. And, he cited it as if a negative against the kid for ball! Lol. That’s got to be honest, it’s too detailed with stuff that doesn’t matter not to be.
One question for the original poster, BigMike – Why is he terrible to coach? You didn’t post any substantive information other than about his parents?
@mike
How are the redneck parents his fault?
Have you ever coached youth sports? The kid isn’t responsible for the parents but the parents can make it a miserable experience to have the kid on your team
Azbucfan: Yes, parents can make coaching more difficult at times; but he literally said Holder was terrible to coach, with no further explanation, and also that his parents were rednecks. Rednecks doesn’t make them bad people, you ignoramus. It doesn’t also make their children automatically harder to instruct, unless you’re, ya know, a bit too judgmental. But then you shouldn’t be coaching anyway.
The Yankees scout not just the skills of a player ,but the makeup, down to the family, because they believe that is the foundation for success. The guy’s full of it.
It was truly the dumbest post of the year. I’ve seen some doozies but that was the top of the heap.
It was pretty close, man, for sure. But it doesn’t surprise me it would get applause from an Arizona Cubs fan in a NYY article – what a dork-face he is.
Kyle holder is a Brendan Ryan clone . The Jeff Mathis of shortstops
I would prefer holder on the bench over wade as I believe holder right now would be a top 5 mlb shortstop defensive wise. However wade is already on the 40 man and has 1 option remaining. For that reason alone I don’t think holder will see any time unless there is a major injury to an infeilder
Holder does deserve a shot at some point . I saw him play in Trenton and the guy is a generational talent with the glove..easy 80 grade defensively
Wow, that’s quite an honor to bestow on a guy who’s not even in MLB. Like a poor man’s Javy Baez. I’m not implying you’re wrong, because I really don’t know how he measures up defensively, but if he’s that good on defense, he should be in the majors regardless of his bat ……
I don’t know, thoughts?
I’m not a scout but I saw him live and he’s got incredible range and he’s extremely smooth. Great throwing arm. Reminds me a ton of Adam Everett. Great shortstop for the stros in the 2000s.
But holder could barely hit his weight in double a.
If this guy could somehow ops near .700 he would be an elite level shortstop
He had a 119 wRC+ in AA in 2019. Trenton is not a good hitter’s park, and he put up those numbers without the benefit of the spiked MLB ball that was used in the majors and AAA that year. There might be a little more bat there than we realize. Be curious to see how he does in AAA.
That’s a really good point too Rob M. 119 WRC+ would be plenty with that kind of defense! Then again, AA pitching is vastly different, but like you astutely noted, it shows some bat is there….
Yeah, Luca21, I’ve seen him play live and he is smooth for sure – I just don’t know if he’s be the top 5 in defensive SS in MLB or not based on what I’ve seen. Hard to tell all the way around without seeing him play up there and then reviewing the advanced metrics along with the ever-reliable “eye test” – my personal fav.
With wade, estrada, holder and Dietrich around they’ll just pick the one that’s hitting best if they have an injury need. None are attractive options at this point to be long term insurance.