The Cardinals waited until the last second to sign Greg Holland to a one-year, $14 million deal. While not 100% finalized, Holland will be the Cards’ de facto closer once he’s added to the roster.
The 32-year-old righty threw about as good as could be expected for a Rockies closer. His 3.61 ERA and an 11.0 K/9 helped him to 41 saves in 2017. Moving out of Colorado should help both his ERA and WHIP, along with his overall fantasy production. He’s a must-own at this point.
The problem for Holland’s owners, or soon-to-be owners, is that we don’t yet know when he’ll be able to contribute. I’d guess it’ll be two weeks before he joins the 25-man roster, but I have no idea. More information will be available once his physical is completed.
Greg Holland will have a physical tonight to finish deal with #stlcards. If he passes they have an agreement on short-term deal, however figuring where he goes to be ready, to get in innings is not yet clear. He has been throwing.
— Derrick S. Goold (@dgoold) March 29, 2018
The rest of the Cardinals’ bullpen will obviously see their save chances and values drop. For the time being, Dominic Leone is the favorite to handle closing duties for the next week or two, but he should move back into a setup role eventually. In deeper leagues, Leone and Luke Gregerson might still be worth owning in case Holland gets hurt.