{"id":41937,"date":"2020-12-14T16:06:53","date_gmt":"2020-12-14T21:06:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=41937"},"modified":"2020-12-14T16:06:53","modified_gmt":"2020-12-14T21:06:53","slug":"greg-holland-returns-to-kansas-city-royals-on-1-year-contract","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2020\/12\/14\/greg-holland-returns-to-kansas-city-royals-on-1-year-contract\/","title":{"rendered":"Greg Holland Returns to Kansas City Royals on 1-Year Contract"},"content":{"rendered":"

Greg Holland<\/strong><\/a>,<\/strong> who established himself as one of baseball’s top closers with the Kansas City Royals<\/a> early in his career, has re-signed with the Royals, the team announced Monday.<\/p>\n

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Guess who’s back, back again.<\/p>\n

Greg\u2019s back, tell a friend. pic.twitter.com\/V1hAuGbcfG<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Kansas City Royals (@Royals) December 14, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

According to reports, the right-hander received a one-year, $2.75 million contract with the Royals.<\/p>\n

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Can confirm that Greg Holland’s deal is for one year at $2.75M plus $1.5M in performance bonuses, per source.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Jeffrey Flanagan (@FlannyMLB) December 14, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

A Rising Star<\/h2>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Sidelined by Surgery<\/h2>\n

Late in the 2015 season, Holland injured his right elbow and needed to have Tommy John<\/strong><\/a> surgery, forcing him to miss the run to the World Series championship over the New York Mets<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

On the Move<\/h2>\n

In January 2017, Holland found a new home with the Colorado Rockies<\/a>, signing a one-year, $6 million deal. He led the National League with 41 saves and also earned his third All-Star selection.<\/p>\n

However, it started the journeyman portion of Holland’s career. Holland struggled in 2018 after signing with the St. Louis Cardinals<\/a>, then moved to the Washington Nationals<\/a> (also 2018), the Arizona Diamondbacks<\/a> (2019) and back with the Royals in 2020.<\/p>\n

Main Image
\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a>