Was Signing Matt Holliday the Right Choice for Yankees?

On Wednesday, the New York Yankees made their signing of veteran slugger Matt Holliday official. The 36-year-old was signed to a one-year; $13 million contract. Did the club make the right choice at DH for 2017?

After trading away Brian McCann to the Houston Astros, the New York Yankees were seeking a power bat to fill the hole in the middle of their lineup. Power is something the Yankees were missing all of 2016 until Gary Sanchez was called up. With no one on the team hitting more than 22 home runs or driving in 70 runs, adding another productive bat to the lineup next year was a necessity.

With a bald head and clean-shaven face, Matt Holliday fits the Yankee look quite well. Aside from being a Mr. Clean look alike; he is a pretty good baseball player. He has compiled a career .303/.382/.515 slash line, alongside 295 home runs and 1,153 runs batted in during his 13 years in the big leagues.

But injuries have plagued Holliday over the past two seasons, limiting his time in the field. In 2015, a quad injury limited him to only 73 games, and a fractured thumb in 2016 cut his season short at 110 games.

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These injuries not only kept him off the field, but also might have impacted his offensive performance. In the 183 games he played in during 2015-2016, Holliday hit a dismal .259/.350/.442 with 24 home runs and 97 RBI.

2016 in particular was a career worst for the former MVP runner up. A .249 batting average is 26 points lower than his previous career worst in 2014. Age normally hurts a player’s productivity, but throw in his two worst career injuries and you have a recipe for disaster.

With the offseason still young and some solid bats still out there, the Holliday signing has perplexed some fans. Some big names like Mike Napoli, Edwin Encarnacion, and Mark Trumbo are still available. General manager Brian Cashman chose to be proactive and get a solid bat in Holliday, but may have missed out on some bigger prizes.

So why did Cashman decide Holliday was the right guy for the job? For starters, he will rarely, if at all, have to play the field. He injured his quad chasing down a fly ball, and that lingering injury has slowed him down the past few years. Only focusing on hitting and limiting running, Holliday should be able to dedicate more time and energy on mashing, which he does quite well, without having to worry about his quad going again.

As most players do, Holliday reportedly jumped at the opportunity to wear the pinstripes and become part of the team’s storied history. Players in the past have shied away from the spotlight of playing in New York, but Holliday seemed to want to embrace it. Athletes who want to play in a particular city seem to always play well when performing for that team.

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Holliday’s contract is basically a steal for the New York Yankees. While $13 million might seem like a lot, to get Matt Holliday for that is pretty remarkable. While his stock has gone down the past few years, he is certainly one of the elite power hitters still in Major League Baseball. Hopefully he can bring a much needed spark to the Yankees lineup.