After pitching in a combined 40 games with the Athletics the past two seasons, Grant Holman spent the spring getting passed from team to team. The A’s placed him on waivers in February, and he was claimed by the Diamondbacks. After failing to make their major league roster to start the season, he was placed on waivers again and claimed by the Dodgers.
He lasted ten days with the Dodgers before returning to the waiver wire where he was claimed by the Tigers. He appeared in three minor league games
for them before once again going on waivers. This time, it was the Phillies’ turn to claim him. They sent him to Lehigh Valley where he spent the majority of the season but did manage to make up to the big league team for one appearance.
The stats: 1 game, 0.1 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0 K, 1 BB
What went right
Holman was solid for Lehigh Valley in the second half of the season. Oddly, it seemed to correspond with a downturn in his strikeouts.
When he finally made his Phillies debut late in the season, he didn’t give up any earned runs. Sounds good, right?
What went wrong
Holman was called up to the majors in September. When Jesus Luzardo was scratched from his start, the Phillies had to use a bullpen game, and Holman made his Phillies debut. It didn’t go well.
He faced seven batters. Four of them got hits, one walked and another reached base on an error. He also allowed a stolen base and threw a wild pitch before finally retiring the final batter of the inning. Despite seven runners scoring while he was in the game, none of them were earned runs charged to Holman.
To sum: Holman pitched 0.1 innings for the Phillies, allowed zero earned runs, yet still racked up -0.5 wins above replacement.
Later in the month, it was reported that he had been recalled as an injury replacement, but then the Phillies decided against it.
The future
It seems a given that Holman will be dropped from the 40-man roster and will once again find himself on the waiver wire. He’s only 26 years of age, so it seems likely that some team will offer him a minor league invite to camp. If the Phillies liked what they saw from him in the minors, it’s possible that it could be them.
