The Giants brought back starting pitcher Derek Holland on a one-year deal which hopefully started some motivation into making more additions to the pitching staff.
Well, the team did make a pitching improvement on Tuesday, but in the baseball operations department hiring Matt Daniels.
But back to Holland ...
The 31-year-old boasted improvement numbers with a 3.57 ERA and 169 strikeouts in 171.1 innings with the orange and black last season. And it turns out the former Ranger received interest from his previous team and the Reds:
Derek Holland told us on @MLBNetworkRadio that the #Rangers and #Reds pursued him before he returned to the #SFGiants on a 1-year deal. Holland said there was one point in the offseason when he thought he'd return to Texas. @MLB @MLBNetwork— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) January 15, 2019
The Reds made a few pitching moves this offseason including the loss of Matt Harvey. Homer Bailey also said his farewells in a blockbuster trade with the Dodgers, so starting pitching was certainly on the team's to-do list. It's on every team's to-do list, but you get the point.
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A reunion with the Rangers would have been more of a softy-type storyline than him making an impact. Keeping him in the NL West would appear to be more beneficial to the lefty.
During the interview with MLB Network Holland also took a few moments to talk about the man of the hour, or the man of the offseason, Madison Bumgarner:
Derek Holland on @SFGiants teammate Madison Bumgarner: "If I was trying to mold someone who's up and coming, I want them to see what he does. He's a special kind of guy . . . He's a Hall of Famer, I think, without a doubt." @MLBNetworkRadio @MLB @MLBNetwork— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) January 15, 2019
MadBum has been a constant in trade talks for the Giants, but it appears at the moment keeping him around a team that is in its rebuilding stage is the perfect way to execute him.
