Giants Showing Interest in Holland

Before the Chicago Cubs a 108-year World Series drought last night, climbing back from a 3-1 deficit to defeat the Cleveland Indians, baseball’s lovable losers made history in Game 4 of NLDS against the San Francisco Giants in an inning Bruce Bochy’s ballclub would like to forget.

San Francisco entered the top of the ninth inning of Game 4 with a three run lead, three outs away from forcing a Game 5 in the Northside of Chicago which would have had Johnny Cueto on the hill and Madison Bumgarner available to pitch in relief.

Matt Moore met Bochy’s expectations and then some, pitching arguably the game of his life by holding the potent Cubbie lineup to only one run in eight innings. All the bullpen had to do was record three outs and San Francisco would have the opportunity to play postseason spoiler once again.

But the Giants would not have that opportunity and in the blink of an eye, what once seemed to be an insurmountable lead became a one-run deficit. With the lack of a lights-out closer, Bochy went with what he knew best, trotting out pitcher after pitcher, trying to play the exploit the individual matchups, the head of the ship ran out of magic and the Giants collapsed. A half inning later, the Giants watched as the Cubs ended their season and hosted the first of three more series clinching celebrations on their home field.

San Francisco’s bullpen effort in Game 4 was the epitome of their shortcomings throughout the entire year. In the 2016 regular season, the bullpen combined to blow 30 saves, a franchise record, which included losing nine ninth inning leads, and while the team, by the end of the season, added two arms in Derek Law and Will Smith, the relief deficiencies were glaring.

Bobby Evans will most likely take his shot in signing baseball’s premier free agent relievers in Aroldis Chapman, Kenley Jansen, and Mark Melancon, but the general manager will look outside the box as well, and that starts scouting two-time All-Star closer Greg Holland. Evans has confirmed that he will send representatives to examine Holland at a showcase in November following Tommy John surgery in October of 2015.

The rationale in sending scouts out to observe Holland is obvious. Before he missed a significant chunk of last season and the Kansas City Royals’ championship run, the 30-year-old was one of baseball’s premier closers, comparable to that of this year’s free agency class. Holland placed ninth in the American League Cy Young Award in back-to-back seasons while posting a 1.21 ERA with 47 saves in 2013 and a 1.44 ERA with 46 saves in 2014.

San Francisco should have confidence in Holland’s ability to bounce back after Tommy John surgery due to the solid performance of Matt Moore who, before joining the orange and black, underwent the same procedure as a member of the Tampa Bay Rays. Moore, in his first full season since the surgery, posted a 4.08 combined ERA over a career-high 198.1 innings with both the Giants and the Rays.

Looking back further on San Francisco’s pitching timeline, two-time World Champion Brian Wilson bounced back from Tommy John surgery following his junior year in college and eventually became Bochy’s go-to closer during the team’s first championship run.

The fact that Holland is coming off an injury significantly decreases his market value, and with the likes of Jansen and Melancon to request somewhere within the $15M to $18M+ range, the Giants could sign the bullpen arm for less while getting a pitcher of the same caliber. Holland isn’t going to come at a dirt cheap price, but signing him for less than baseball’s elite arms gives the front office a little more leniency to fill out other holes in the roster.

San Francisco wouldn’t have to bite on a long-term contract either because they, along with every other team of interest, wouldn’t want to welcome aboard Holland long term without knowing how well he fares in his first season back from injury. If Evans can secure the closer on a one or two-year deal, Holland can help stabilize a shaky San Francisco bullpen while giving some of the Giants’ farmhands some time to develop.

The Giants have had success in developing relievers, and one needn’t look further than Hunter Strickland and Law. There are a couple of relief arms in San Francisco’s minor-league system who could develop into pieces of a new bullpen core, and if Holland holds down the fort for a year or two, San Francisco could be in good shape in both the short term and the long term.

Acquiring Holland won’t just fall in the laps of the Giants. Other teams around the league, such as the Boston Red Sox and Holland’s former team the Royals, have unsurprisingly shown interest, and a successful showcase will only have more teams flocking at the opportunity to sign him. Expect for more information to come out in the following weeks after Holland’s showcase.

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