Royals' Holland out for season with UCL tear
The Kansas City Royals' three-headed bullpen monster that struck fear in opponents during a magical run to the World Series in 2014 won't be intact for this year's playoff run.
Right-hander Greg Holland has a "significant tear" in his UCL and has been shut down for the remainder of the season, according to manager Ned Yost.
"It sucks. But it's baseball," Holland told reporters. "It's pretty difficult with the situation we're in. But it's what's best for the team and best for me. It's what's necessary."
The demoted closer will be examined by Dr. Neal ElAttrache in Los Angeles next week to determine if Tommy John surgery is required. Holland underwent an MRI earlier this month that revealed ligament damage, and he's been battling arm trouble since last year.
Yost thinks Holland likely tore ligament last August. So Holland pitched all October & saved 32 games in '14 w/ a damaged arm. Impressive.
— Andy McCullough (@McCulloughStar) September 24, 2015
Yost named Wade Davis as the Royals' closer on Tuesday, after Holland uncharacteristically blew his fifth save of the season last Friday. Holland's velocity has dipped since the All-Star break, and has been way down in September.
"He battled through it all September and October last year, through the playoffs," Yost said. "He came into Spring Training and he knew he had changes in his elbow. But he was still functional. But then the velocity started decreasing, the command started decreasing and those are all signs (of a ligament tear)."
Greg Holland: Fastball averaged 90.7 mph in September, lowest in a calendar month in his CAREER. FB averaged 93.8 in 2015 before September
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) September 24, 2015
PRE ALL-STAR STATS
| IP | ERA | SV | SVO | BAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26.2 | 2.70 | 19 | 21 | 1.65 |
POST ALL-STAR STATS
| IP | ERA | SV | SVO | BAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | 5.50 | 13 | 16 | .333 |
Holland, who has amassed 125 saves over the past three seasons, has one year of arbitration left before becoming a free agent in 2017, which means the 29-year-old may have thrown his last pitch in a Kansas City uniform if he requires Tommy John surgery.
Fireballer Kelvin Herrera is the likely candidate to slide into the setup role behind Davis.