2018 contributors Holland, Reynolds sign with NL West clubs

A pair of veterans who enjoyed some success with the Nationals found new homes Wednesday when Greg Holland reportedly agreed to a deal with the Diamondbacks and Mark Reynolds reportedly signed with the Rockies.

Holland's contract, first reported by The Athletic, guarantees the reliever $3.25 million with an additional $3.5 million possible in incentives.

It's a massive drop in salary for Holland, who despite waiting until March 31 to sign with St. Louis last spring still earned a guaranteed $14 million. That proved to be a disastrous deal for the Cardinals, who wound up releasing the right-hander after he posted a 7.92 ERA and 2.240 WHIP in 32 appearances.

The Nationals scooped up Holland in August on a minimum-salary deal, and he proceeded to turn everything around and become a valuable late-inning reliever for them down the stretch. In 24 games with Washington he had an 0.84 ERA, 0.891 WHIP and three saves.

Despite those numbers, the Nationals didn't show much interest in re-signing Holland, opting instead to make an early push for Trevor Rosenthal after scouting the right-hander who missed all of last season recovering from Tommy John surgery. The Nats are giving Rosenthal a guaranteed $7 million salary this year (plus incentives) and also included a $10 million mutual option for 2020 that turns into a $15 million vesting option if he makes 50 appearances or finishes 30 games in 2019.

It's a bit of a gamble on the Nationals' part, but they're optimistic about Rosenthal's chances of returning to the form he showed pre-surgery, when he was an often-dominant closer for the Cardinals. Certainly, the Nats seem to be more optimistic about Rosenthal's chances of bouncing back than about Holland's chances of duplicating what he did during his two months in D.C.

Reynolds, meanwhile, returns to Colorado, where he played in 2016-17 before his one season with the Nationals. As was the case last year, the veteran corner infielder had to agree to a minor-league deal that will pay him $1 million if he makes the major league roster, according to MLB.com.

Though he proved valuable to the Nats last year after Ryan Zimmerman suffered an oblique injury in May, Reynolds didn't seem to fit into the club's 2019 plans. They already re-signed Matt Adams to be their backup first baseman, preferring his left-handed bat as a complement to Zimmerman over another right-handed hitter like Reynolds.

True to his career standards, Reynolds was a streaky player for the Nationals. He burst out of the gates on a tear, hitting .432 with six homers in his first 12 games before getting mired in a 3-for-46 slump over the next month. He finished the season with a .248 batting average, 13 homers and 40 RBIs in only 235 plate appearances.