Detroit Tigers News: Bryan Holaday Still Likely Off Opening Day Roster
By Matt Snyder
Detroit Tigers news looks at the team’s upcoming decision with backup catcher Bryan Holaday and other Tigers content from around the web.
Detroit Tigers catcher Bryan Holaday is having himself a heck of a spring at the plate. He had two hits in Wednesday’s exhibition game with the Houston Astros — including a home run, his fourth of the spring — to raise his OPS to a cool 2.069.
The sample size is still incredibly small, we’re talking about 21 plate appearances, but it’s hard not to be impressed with what the backup catcher has produced.
It was assumed that Holaday would find himself without a job when the final cuts were made — the Tigers have handed the starting gig to James McCann and also signed veteran switch hitter Jarrod Saltalamacchia to handle the backup duties — but his offensive emergence might be giving the team second thoughts about keeping Holaday around.
He’s appeared at third base and left field (in addition to catching), a sign that perhaps the organization would consider hanging on to him in a utility role. He’s out of minor league options, so sending him to the minor leagues is out of the question without first putting him through waivers and offering him to every other club.
Unfortunately for Holaday and the Tigers, a hot start to the spring isn’t statistically meaningful and shouldn’t overcome rigorous statistical projections (like Steamer) which peg him as one of the worst hitters on the club.
Holaday probably couldn’t field third base or outfield well enough to make him a viable defensive replacement so he’d have to hit his way onto the team. Unfortunately, one month of exhibition action isn’t enough time to prove a potential transformation is real.
The Tigers’ best hope is to trade him to a team looking for a backup or platoon catcher (maybe due to an unforeseen injury situation) and maybe pick up a reliever or low level lottery ticket prospect in return.
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Holaday is an easy player to root for — and fans should root for him — but his whole professional history at the plate (both minor and major league) suggest he’s simply a below average hitter. Players can certainly improve, but it’s difficult to improve that much in one offseason.