Can Greg Holland Be A Future Option for the New York Yankees?

The New York Yankees have already captured the attention of the American League for 2016. After bringing in Starlin Castro and Aroldis Chapman, there’s no doubt they should be contenders this upcoming season in what could be a hot-seat year for manager Joe Girardi. Starlin Castro is clearly the future at second base and the bullpen has the potential to be one of the greatest collections of arms in history.

Even though the Yankees didn’t have Chapman in 2015, they still had a dominant bullpen that was troubled with fatigue down the stretch. Justin Wilson was unfortunately dealt along with Adam Warren, but that was before the huge Chapman news would break and soften the loss.

So now looking at new trio of Dellin Betances, Andrew Miller, and the newly appointed closer Aroldis Chapman, what worries me like last year is fatigue. Not just for next year, but for the next upcoming seasons. Sure the Yankees added some bullpen depth in Kirby Yates and have a plethora of young bullpen arms in Jacob Lindgren and James Pazos ready to break into the major leagues and contribute for years to come, but I still think the Yankees need one or two more reliable pitchers to add to their bullpen to decrease the work load. 

One low-risk high reward scenario for this to happen would be investing in Greg Holland. Someone who can easily take the position of any three pitchers should he be needed to and was once one of more dominant relievers in baseball.

If you aren’t familiar with Holland’s injury, he was struggling with what would be a growing tear in his elbow. The former Mariano Rivera Award winner fought through the injury throughout the 2014 season, including the historic run he helped pave for the Kansas City Royals. Last season he continued to fight through it, but despite having 32 saves into September, he was finally shut down for the season.

Why did the process drag on for so long? He kept refusing to get an MRI until late last season. It may be his own fault that he now will be out after Tommy John surgery, but who can blame him? The Royals were so close to winning a World Series for the first time in 20 years and all Holland wanted to do was be a part of it.

Though it’ll take some time for recovery, once he returns  he will be a key addition to anyone who’s willing to take a chance on him. Given the Yankees proven track record of rehabbing reclamation projects and getting them back to the major league mound at full strength, (Exhibit A – Andrew Bailey) I think the Yankees would be wise to pursue Holland.

Would Holland be worth the wait? And would he take the load off the three-headed monster the Yankees currently have as well in his return? Yes.

Holland’s price tag will also be nothing extreme, similar to the asking price of Aroldis Chapman after his off-field issues.

Next: Should the Yankees Target Cliff Lee

The 2016 bullpen is already dominant. Can you imagine adding a healthy Greg Holland to the mix in 2017 to join Chapman, Betances and Miller?