Kansas City Royals Injury News: Greg Holland to the DL

The greatest strength for the Kansas City Royals over the past few seasons has been their bullpen. The trio of Greg Holland, Wade Davis and Kelvin Herrera has been virtually unhittable since the beginning of the 2014 season. The Royals bullpen Cerberus, or HDH as they are also known as, have been almost automatic when summoned to close out a game.

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Unfortunately, the Royals dominant trio will be without their ringleader. Holland was placed on the disabled list earlier today due to a right pectoral strain. Taking his place on the roster is Yohan Pino, who was truly masterful during his first outing for the Omaha Storm Chasers, allowing only one hit while striking out six batters.

This injury must have occurred during his outing last night, as he did not quite have the same stuff he usually does. While he did hit the upper 90’s against Marcus Semien, Holland had an uncharacteristic four pitch walk the batter before where he was not anywhere near the strike zone. Perhaps the injury explains the slight struggles he had last night.

In his absence, Wade Davis will likely fill in as the closer. Davis performed well in that role last season when Holland missed a few games. Davis has also been considered a future closer if either he or Holland were to be traded, so now, he will get at least a two week trial to further those thoughts.

The injury to Greg Holland also speaks volumes to the depth of the Kansas City Royals bullpen. Dayton Moore had spent a part of the offseason to help improve the depth of the bullpen, bringing back Jason Frasor and Luke Hochevar. Even without Holland and Hochevar, the Royals may still have the best bullpen in baseball. How many other teams can say that after losing their closer?

Hopefully, Greg Holland will only miss the minimum of fifteen days while resting his strained pectoral muscle. However, the injuries continue to mount for the Royals, with Tim Collins out for the year, and Hochevar and Alex Rios sidelined. At least the Royals are getting stung by the injury bug early, and these players will be fresher for the rest of the season when they come back.