Greg Holland, who established himself as one of baseball’s top closers with the Kansas City Royals early in his career, has re-signed with the Royals, the team announced Monday.
Guess who’s back, back again.
Greg’s back, tell a friend. pic.twitter.com/V1hAuGbcfG
— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) December 14, 2020
According to reports, the right-hander received a one-year, $2.75 million contract with the Royals.
Can confirm that Greg Holland’s deal is for one year at $2.75M plus $1.5M in performance bonuses, per source.
— Jeffrey Flanagan (@FlannyMLB) December 14, 2020
A Rising Star
Greg Holland, who just turned 35, was picked by the Royals in the 10th round of the 2007 draft out of Western Carolina University. He made his major-league debut in 2010, appearing in 15 games.
In 2011, Holland began to establish himself as a lockdown, late-inning reliever. Eventually, he saved 151 games while also posting a 2.38 ERA in seven seasons with the Royals. Holland was also an All-Star in 2013 and 2014. He was an integral part of a dominant bullpen that led the Royals to the World Series in 2014 and 2015.
Sidelined by Surgery
Late in the 2015 season, Holland injured his right elbow and needed to have Tommy John surgery, forcing him to miss the run to the World Series championship over the New York Mets.
Surgery came at a bad time in Holland’s career as he became a free agent following the 2015 season. Due to the Tommy John procedure, Holland was expected to miss the entire 2016 season.
On the Move
In January 2017, Holland found a new home with the Colorado Rockies, signing a one-year, $6 million deal. He led the National League with 41 saves and also earned his third All-Star selection.
However, it started the journeyman portion of Holland’s career. Holland struggled in 2018 after signing with the St. Louis Cardinals, then moved to the Washington Nationals (also 2018), the Arizona Diamondbacks (2019) and back with the Royals in 2020.
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