The most intriguing invitee to Tampa

Yesterday, the Death Star unveiled the names of 19 non-roster nobodies who will receiving parking slot validations at next week's opening of spring training. As usual, the list includes five low-budget catchers, assembled to handle the deluge of pitchers. If you're counting, eight invitees are pitchers., three are outfielders and one is a shortstop. Kyle Holder.

Across the Yankiverse, Holder is often held up for condemnation as the classic example of a wasted high draft pick, another Cito Culver, picked in the relentless hope of quickly replacing Derek Jeter. He was selected in the "sandwich" round of the 2015 draft, after the Astros had grabbed Garbage Can Bregman, and the Redsocks had taken Babe Benintendi. Holder was the 30th player picked, and to be honest, there is no raging current superstar immediately called afterwards, allowing critics to lord over the Yankees for their failure. (Most early picks are still bumbling around in the minors.)  

Signed out of college, Holder was said to possess a major league glove - at SS, no less - that would grease his ride through the minors... if only he could learn to hit. Here's what MLB said:


Holder actually had a strong season from an offensive standpoint with a .348 batting average, but he’s considered an elite defensive shortstop with good instincts and a lot of athleticism.

Last year at Trenton, Holder hit 9 HRs and batted .265, one point above his career minor league total. In a previous generation, those numbers for a shortstop would have him in the majors. But these days, shortstops are supposed to hit 30 HRs and bat third. Holder will never do that. He'll turn 26 in May - (bats LH, by the way) - and it's now or never, as to whether he can be a useful management wrench. 

I mention Holder because, if certain events come to pass, he might be exactly what the Yankees need for their 26th man. Of course, they already have two utility infield candidates - Tyler Wade and Thairo Estrada - each with a better bat than Holder. But it's questionable whether either represents a defensive upgrade over Gleyber Torres at SS. Here's where Holder's supposedly elite glove could come into play.

Let's say it's the ninth inning of a close game, and the Yanks need their best gloves on the field. Mike Tauchman takes over in left. Would Holder play SS, moving Torres to 2B and DJ LeMahieu to 1B? If so, the oft-maligned Holder might turn out to be one of the most useful first-round picks of the last decade. After all, the guy we picked earlier in that round was James Kaprielian, later dealt to Oakland (and still bumbling around Triple A.) 

In the last three years, the Yankees were spoiled by the spectacular defense of Sir Didi Gregorius. He'll be a tough act to follow, and if Gleyber Torres's glove lags, maybe the unheralded Holder will get a shot. You never know.