Holland made 57 appearances with Kansas City last season while Winkler had 47 games with Chicago-NL
Surprise, Ariz. — The Texas Rangers today announced the signings of right-handed pitchers Greg Holland and Dan Winkler to minor league contracts with invitations to Major League Spring Training camp.
Holland, 36, went 3-5 with a 4.85 ERA (30 ER/55.2 IP) and 8 saves over 57 relief appearances with Kansas City last season, with 8.57 strikeouts per 9 innings and a .229 opponent batting average. He pitched in career game no. 500 on April 18 vs. Toronto and eclipsed the 500.0-inning threshold on May 14 at Chicago-AL (G2). He spent the past two seasons in Kansas City for his second stint with the organization, and he currently ranks sixth in Royals history with 394 games.
Holland had a successful 2020 campaign with K.C., going 3-0 with 6 saves, a 1.91 ERA, and 0.953 WHIP figure. A three-time All-Star (2013-14, 2017), he has a 3.10 ERA while averaging 11.1 strikeouts per 9 innings over an 11-year Major League career with Kansas City (2010-15, 2020-21), Colorado (2017), St. Louis (2018), Washington (2018), and Arizona (2019). He was a member of the Royals’ back-to-back American League pennant winners in 2014-15, but was unable to pitch in the club’s 2015 World Series championship run due to injury. The 2017 National League Comeback Player of the Year with Colorado, Holland was also the 2014 Mariano Rivera American League Reliever of the Year.
The 32-year-old Winkler has spent the past two seasons with the Cubs, posting a 1-3 record and 5.22 ERA (23 ER/39.2 IP) over 47 relief appearances in 2021. His 19.0-inning scoreless streak from April 4-June 4 was the third-longest by any Cubs pitcher last season. Winkler had a 2.61 season ERA as late as August 7 last season before allowing 3-or-more runs in each of his final 3 appearances. He was designated for assignment on August 17.
Winkler has seen Major League action in each of the last 7 seasons with Atlanta (2015-19) and Chicago-NL (2020-21), posting a 3.98 ERA with 9.8 strikeouts per 9 innings. The Illinois native made his only postseason appearance with the Cubs in the 2020 National League Wild Card round.
With these signings, the Rangers now have 65 players on the club’s Spring Training roster: 39 on the Major League roster and 26 non-roster invitees.
