Yankees: 5 trade deadline targets for NYY as Aug. 31 rapidly approaches

4. Greg Holland

Greg Holland might be the most effective reliever available to the Yankees.

Casual fans might not realize the number of ups and downs Greg Holland went through between dominating for the 2014 Royals and dominating for the 2020 Royals. If you’ve only watched him a few times, it would appear that nothing had changed, despite the extreme grind it took to get to this point.

The 34-year-old Holland was dominant in 2013 and ’14, losing a bit of his effectiveness as Wade Davis and Kelvin Herrera took the spotlight for the World Champions in 2015. Since then, he’s missed the 2016 season, gotten back to a baseline of dominance in posting an All-Star season for Colorado in 2017, and been a viable reliever, at the very least, with the Cardinals, Nationals and Diamondbacks since then.

Upon returning to KC in 2020, Holland’s once again showcased strong stuff and veteran guile for contenders who need it, posting a 2.61 ERA through his first 10 outings. The Royals are on the fringes of the Wild Card race (once again, 2020 is weird), but they have to be wise enough to realize that would be the case whether they had a veteran reliever like Holland or not.

Man-bunned Josh Staumont has emerged as their best relief option, and they’ll keep leaning on him. Holland is simply pitching well, biding his time for a more high-profile opportunity.