St. Louis Cardinals Land Greg Holland

On Opening Day 2018, teams pretty much were ready to start the season. There was a closer named Greg Holland who went unsigned all offseason. He was an All-Star in 2017, and lead the NL in saves with 41. It was Holland's first full season back after having Tommy John surgery. He finished the season with an era of 3.61. There were lots of unsigned pitchers most recently finding new teams, one was Alex Cobb who signed with the Baltimore Orioles. When would Greg Holland be signed? Who was going to sign him?

That got answered with the St. Louis Cardinals still looking for a closer, they made one last addition to their roster signing Greg Holland to a one-year contract; worth $14 million. Holland, 32, should help the Cardinals improved bullpen. They already added Luke Gregerson, and Dominic Leone. Both of them can be good setup men, that's if Gregerson can stay healthy and do well. The Cardinals will also have Alex Reyes at some point, and prospect Jordan Hicks made the jump skipping Double-A and Triple-A.

Holland joins the Cardinals, after spending 2017 with the Colorado Rockies. Holland could have stayed with the Rockies for 2018, but he declined his player option. Holland's option was for $15 million. The Rockies gave Holland a qualifying offer for $17.4 million, but he declined it. Why did he sign for only one-year, and $14 million? Was it because he was asking for too much and his agent is Scott Boras or is it because in August he had an era of 13.50 or is it both? Regardless he signed for less money, and he should have signed for more.

Holland is entering his eight MLB season, over his previous seven seasons his career stats are: 21 wins, 18 losses, 2.60 era, 370 games, 186 saves, 377 innings, 500 strikeouts, 151 walks, and a whip of 1.13. He's only blown 20 saves, and his save percentage is 90.3%. Holland has been an All-Star three times (2013, 2014, and 2017). He won AL Reliever of the Year in 2014, and won a World Series with the Kansas City Royals in 2015.

Does Greg Holland joining the Cardinals now make them a playoff contender if they weren't already? To me they have the the right pieces in place, but it starts with starting pitching and Mike Matheny trusting and listening to his coaches.