Adam Ottavino

Rockies Sign Greg Holland, Creates Bullpen Competiton

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 11:05 a.m. ET

Fansided, Bill Pivetz/FanSided via Fantasy Baseball Crackerjacks

The Rockies added bullpen depth by signing Greg Holland to a one-year deal on Wednesday. Will he be the closer or set-up man in 2017?

The Colorado Rockies added to their offense with a major signing in December. On Wednesday, the team announced that they signed former closer Greg Holland to a one-year deal. While the Rockies already have a closer, Holland can be a great set-up man. Or, will he be the closer?

Holland missed all of the 2016 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery. His 2015 ended in the middle of September. Looking back at his numbers, we should have known something was wrong. He finished the season with a 3.83 ERA, 1.455 WHIP, and 32 saves.

This was a big drop off from his previous seasons. He had back-to-back all-star seasons in 2013 and 2014. Holland had a combined 1.32 ERA, 0.889 WHIP and 93 saves in that span. He recorded 193 strikeouts and just 38 walks in 129.1 innings.

Holland was an extreme ground ball pitcher, 44.4 percent, while keeping the long ball to a minimum, 6.3 HR/FB rate.

He was one of the most dominant closers in those two years, and even before that.

The signing now complicates things in the Rockies bullpen. Colorado already has Adam Ottavino as the probable closer.

The Rockies bullpen was a carousel last season. There were three relief pitchers with at least seven saves. I use seven because that’s how many Ottavino had. He also had a 2.67 ERA, 0.926 WHIP, and 11.7 K/9 in 34 games.

The team still has Jake McGee (15 saves in 2016), Jason Motte and recently signed Mike Dunn in the bullpen. Even with those veteran names, I think the closer job will come down to Ottavino and Holland.

I believe Ottavino will start the season as the Rockies’ closer. Holland is still recovering from surgery and will need to build back up his arm strength. His fastball went from 95.8 MPH in 2014 to 93.6 MPH in 2015. If he can show his stuff consistently during Spring Training, then my rankings will change.

The Rockies have a solid roster to compete in the National League West. The only downside is the starting rotation. If they can hold a lead long enough to hand to the bullpen, they should be able to shut it down.

Just who throws the final pitch is still a mystery. Holland will be valuable in whatever role he’s in for the Rockies.