Guardians replenish bullpen depth after losing reliever to Yankees

Another day, another occasion where the Guardians add a reliever. 

After signing Connor Brogdon at the start of the Winter Meetings and acquiring Peyton Pallette in the Rule 5 Draft, the Guardians finalized their 40-man roster on Thursday by signing right-handed reliever Colin Holderman to a one-year, $1.5 million contract. 

Holderman brings another veteran into the Guardians slightly revamped bullpen while also providing another middle-leverage arm around Tim Herrin, Andrew Walters and the newly acquired Pallette. 

Guardians finalize bullpen by adding Colin Holderman

Holderman, 30, is coming off a disaster season with the Pirates where he tallied a 7.01 ERA in 25 2/3 innings while dealing with a knee sprain and shoulder inflammation. However, his overall track record is impressive, as he tallied a 3.52 ERA in 107 1/3 innings across the 2023 and ‘24 seasons. 

Holderman also picked up three saves in his career so he has some high-leverage experience, though it’s hard to imagine the Guardians would use him in that role. 

That rough season led to him being expendable in Pittsburgh, however. The Pirates decided to designate him for assignment last month instead of paying him a projected salary of $1.7 million through arbitration. 

Though the Guardians ended up signing him for a contract a bit lower than that, he still has three years of arbitration control remaining, so he could end up becoming a mainstay in Cleveland if he produces like he did across those two seasons. 

Holderman has mostly worked as a single-inning reliever, though have been a couple occasions in his career where he's gotten more than three outs in an apperance.

There’s also a lot to like in his peripherals thanks to a fastball that averages 97.3 miles per hour (90th percentile) and a four-pitch mix led by a sinker and sweeper. Batter hit .424 on his sinker last season after hitting .163 against it the season prior.

Holderman also becomes another recent player to play for both the Pirates and Guardians, joining baseball legends like Josh Bell, Carlos Santana and Yu Chang, among others. He started his career with the Mets but was traded to Pittsburgh in 2022 in exchange for Daniel Vogelbach. 

Holderman joining the Guardians comes on the same day the Yankees signed former Guardians farmhand Bradley Hanner on a minor league contract that could pay him $900,000 if he makes the Yankees roster. 

Hanner’s coming off a season where he had a 4.74 ERA in 49 1/3 innings at Triple-A for the Guardians, though he has a 2.78 ERA in 120 innings at Double-A. 

The Guardians never added Hanner to their 40-man roster even when they had a bullpen that was in flux, so it would be a bit surprising if he ended up getting any big league experience for the Yankees.