The Cubs have agreed to sign right-handed reliever Jonathan Holder to a non-guaranteed contract, Russell Dorsey of the Chicago Sun-Times reports. It’s a one-year, $750K deal, per Gordon Wittenmyer of NBC Sports Chicago. Holder will have a chance to earn another $150K in incentives, Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets.
The Cubs will be the second major league organization for Holder, a 2014 sixth-round pick of the Yankees who appeared in the bigs in each of the previous five seasons. Holder was at his best from 2017-18 – a 104 1/3-inning run in which he registered a 3.45 ERA/3.22 FIP with 8.54 K/9 and 2.16 BB/9. However, the 27-year-old’s production has declined precipitously since then.
In 60 1/3 frames since 2019, Holder has logged a 5.82 ERA/4.85 FIP, owing in part to an increase in walks and home runs. Holder is now coming off a season in which he recorded career worsts in K/9 (5.82) and BB/9 (4.57), which helped lead to an undesirable 4.98 ERA/5.22 FIP in 21 2/3 innings. The Yankees non-tendered Holder after the season in lieu of paying him a projected $900K to $1MM in arbitration, but he’ll now try to get back on track with the Cubs.