Trade season is quickly approaching its end and things will be heating up soon. The Atlanta Braves have made 3 additions so far with Yonny Chirinos, Pierce Johnson, and Taylor Hearn. Pitching is clearly something the Braves realize they need to focus on.
There is another reliever that the team needs to consider adding to their roster and that is Pirates reliever Colin Holderman.
Holderman is one of a few Pirates pitchers who is getting a lot of interest from contending teams. He, along with Rich Hill, David Bednar, and Mitch Keller, are all great options for any organization to consider.
Pirates are getting hits on defensive catcher Austin Hedges in addition to Hill, Holderman, Bednar and Keller. @JMackeyPG 1st with Santana deal
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) July 28, 2023
Holderman is no stranger to being traded as he was acquired by Pittsburgh last year from the New York Mets. He's quietly become one of their best relief options and put himself on the radar of GMs everywhere.
He currently has a 3.71 ERA on the 2023 season with 10 walks and 34 strikeouts through 34 innings pitched. Holderman primarily features a nasty 100+ mph fastball that has a good amount of run to it.
Rob Friedman, better known as Pitching Ninja, shared a post back in May showing just how much run Holderman gets on his fastball and it's absolutely disgusting. Viewer discretion is advised.
Colin Holderman, Ridiculous Elevated 101mph Two Seamer with 16 inches of Run 😲 pic.twitter.com/cZPhDXfddR
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 23, 2023
That is a serious weapon for any pitcher to possess and he compliments that with a slider that has a decent amount of depth to it as well. His FIP sits at 3.70 which indicates his ERA is accurate and a good indicator of how well he's pitching currently.
The strikeout rate is good at 9.0 and his walk rate is a respectable 2.65 through those 34 innings of work. He also does a good job of stranding runners as his left-on-base percentage sits at 76.7% on the year. That 51.5% ground ball rate surely doesn't hurt either especially if he's brought to Atlanta which features the best infield in baseball.
Holderman isn't set to become a Free Agent until 2029 so a trade for him would allow the Braves to have many years of control. He isn't eligible for arbitration until the 2026 season so he fits the mold of the kind of player Atlanta likes to go after.
That being said, it's the reason why making a trade for Holderman would cost the Braves a couple of players in a trade. You could include Vaughn Grissom in a deal since O'Neil Cruz is on the 60-day IL and cover that position until he's healthy again or they could even consider using him at second base. Grissom would probably need to be packaged with a starting pitcher such as Jared Shuster or Allan Winans to make the deal happen.
Whether this happens or not, depends on how much the Atlanta Braves value the talents of Colin Holderman who could help cover bullpen innings for years to come. It seems like a perfect fit for the Braves and gives the Pirates a chance to add some more talent to their young team.