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Didi Gregorius signed with the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday. That meant the Phillies needed roster space, and when it comes to picking up fodder from teams who are dumping players to free up roster spots for star-caliber players, the Cincinnati Reds have nearly cornered the market.
That’s how the Reds ended up with shortstop Kyle Holder, as ESPN’s Jeff Passan relayed Saturday afternoon.
The Cincinnati Reds are acquiring shortstop Kyle Holder in a trade with the Philadelphia Phillies, sources tell ESPN. Holder, 26, was taken in the Rule 5 draft by the Phillies this year after spending six years in the New York Yankees organization.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) January 30, 2021
Holder, 26, is a former 1st round pick of the New York Yankees, and owns a career .667 OPS in over 1700 career PA at the minor league level. Reportedly, he has a very fine glove at the shortstop position, at least.
I’d say I’d have more on this development as the dust settles, but I won’t. Either this is a flyer depth signing that shakes up the ‘Reds named Kyle who might get a few innings at shortstop in an emergency pinch’ rankings, or it’s the latest example of the Reds scraping the bottom of the barrel while their peers do things like, I dunno, trade for Nolan Arenado.