Greg Holland gets another chance with Royals under manager Mike Matheny
A free agent coming off of some bumpy recent seasons, right-handed relief pitcher Greg Holland went on the market looking for fit and opportunity.
He found those things as well as a second chance to prove his former manager Mike Matheny right for believing in him so staunchly a couple years ago.
Last month, Holland, 34, signed a minor-league deal with the Kansas City Royals that included an invitation to spring training. This week, he officially returned to the franchise where he began his career, and the one he helped reach the top of the baseball world in 2014 and 2015.
He also reunites with Matheny after the two endured a dreadful 2018 season in St. Louis, which ended with neither finishing the year in a Cardinals uniform.
“Quite honestly when you pitch the way I’ve pitched the last few years, you don’t have necessarily 30 opportunities,” Holland said Wednesday. “This just seemed like such a good fit. I didn’t really know what I was going to do this spring. I knew that I still felt like I could pitch, but I wanted it to be a good fit. This has always been home for me as far as baseball is concerned. Mike being the manager was just another added element to that.”
Holland spoke highly of both the Royals’ front office and training staff, also factors in his desire to return to Kansas City. Holland said he suggested the Royals to his agent, Scott Boras, heading into the offseason before he even knew if the club had interest in him.
“I’ve struggled the last couple years giving away too many free bases,” Holland said. “Opportunity is one thing, but for me I still have a lot of confidence that if I command the strike zone and I can keep my body healthy, I can still pitch at a really high level.”
A 10th-round draft pick of the Royals in 2007, Holland became a two-time All-Star with KC in 2013 and 2014. He also won the Mariano Rivera Award as the league’s top relief pitcher in 2014. He saved a combined 93 games with a 1.32 ERA during those two seasons.
He pitched through injury and saved 32 games in 2015 before having Tommy John surgery. He wasn’t able to pitch during the Royals’ run to the World Series championship.
Holland sat out the 2016 season, but he bounced back with the Colorado Rockies, saving an NL-best 41 games in 61 appearances on his way to another All-Star team selection in 2017.
In 2018, Holland signed with the Cardinals on the last day of March, and he didn’t get the chance to pitch at all in spring training. He posted a 7.92 ERA in 32 games (25 innings). He had as many walks as strikeouts (22) and opponents batted .312 against him.
“I pitched like (crap) the whole time I was in St. Louis,” Holland said. “But that’s one of those things.
“(Matheny) called me to welcome me into camp, and we talked. I told him I owed him a bunch of outs so I was looking forward to helping him out. We kind of laughed about that. I had a good relationship with him. I really respect him as a manager. He’s intense, and I think this clubhouse is really going to be able to feed off that intensity.”
The Cardinals fired Matheny in July of 2018 and released Holland on August 1. Holland finished that season with the Washington Nationals.
Matheny still holds lingering regrets about how things unfolded for Holland that season.
“It was jacked up from the beginning,” Matheny said. “He misses spring training. We tried to replicate spring training. I don’t know if I’ve ever pulled harder to have a player than when we were trying to get him.
“Shame on me. I may have rushed him. We brought him in and tried to slow-play as much as we could, but it man it was a shiny new toy. I couldn’t wait to figure out how he could help us. We needed somebody back there in that part of the pen.”
Last season with the Diamondbacks, Holland posted a 4.54 ERA with 41 strikeouts in 35 2/3 innings, and opponents batted .198 against him. He also walked 24 batters and registered a WHIP of 1.37.
While Holland will have to earn a roster spot in spring training, Matheny believes his veteran presence can only benefit the Royals.
“I think just having a Greg Holland around here is priceless,” Matheny said. “I mean look at that roster. We’ve got some experience, but, one, he’s a guy that has not just won but he has won here.”
This story was originally published February 12, 2020 at 6:10 PM.
