Matt Holliday Signs One-Year, $13M Deal With Yankees

Matt Holliday agreed to a one-year, $13 million deal with the New York Yankees on Sunday, marking the first major move this offseason for general manager Brian Cashman. 

Matt Holliday Signs One-Year, $13M Deal With Yankees

The deal is pending a physical, per a source. WFAN’s Sweeny Murti first reported that the sides were close, and then several others, including Jon Heyman of Today’s Knuckleball, also reported the news.

After last month’s trade of Brian McCann to the Astros, the Yankees were desperately seeking a designated hitter. Free-agent options included Holliday, Carlos Beltran and Mike Napoli. However, Beltran signed a one-year, $16 million contract with the Astros on Saturday, while Napoli was looking for more than one year, making Holliday– who turns 37 in January– the ideal fit.

Holliday hit .246/.322/.461 with 20 home runs and 62 RBI in 110 games for the Cardinals in 2016, starting 82 games in left field, nine at first base and eight at DH as he missed roughly seven weeks late in the season with a thumb injury. A seven-time All-Star, Holliday is a career 303/.382/.515 hitter over 13 seasons in Colorado, Oakland and St. Louis.

Holliday won’t likely spend much time in left field with Brett Gardner and Aaron Hicks on the roster. Holliday also brings veteran leadership to what has become a young clubhouse, helping to compensate for the departure of McCann, Beltran, Andrew Miller, Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez in recent months.

“I don’t feel like we’ve missed out on any opportunity that was realistic,” Cashman said Friday. “This market is saturated with bats. The bullpen market, you’ve got a lot of different choices. I think we still have time on that.”

The Yankees also remain determined to add a big-name closer this winter, with Aroldis Chapman at the top of their list. The team is also interested in Kenley Jansen and Mark Melancon, and hopes to pair one of these three with Dellin Betances at the back end of the bullpen.

A strained right groin in 2015 and a fractured right thumb that required surgery in 2016 limited Holliday, a right-handed hitter.

Perhaps one of Holliday’s greatest strengths is that he hits to all fields.

ST. LOUIS, MO – APRIL 20: Matt Holliday #7 of the St. Louis Cardinals hist a two run home run during the first inning against the Chicago Cubs at Busch Stadium on April 20, 2016 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Jeff Curry/Getty Images)