Miami Marlins Spring Training: Bryan Holaday Gets Released

Bryan Holaday led the National League in 2018 with a 44.7 kill rate on runners trying to steal.

After spending his first four major league seasons with the Detroit Tigers, Holaday then joined the Texas Rangers, the Boston Red Sox, and then the Tigers once more in 2017. He signed with the Miami Marlins through free agency for the 2018 campaign.

Holaday’s time with the Miami Marlins was punctuated by a pair of pitching appearances, including one where he struck out Philadelphia Phillies slugger Rhys Hoskins on a 62 MPH junk ball.

Holaday hit .205/.261/.258 in 61 appearances for the Miami Marlins, but more importantly, he was a solid defender behind the plate.

In addition to his laser-rocket arm, Holaday surrendered a total of one passed ball in 357 1/3 defensive innings of work. During that time, he handled 348 chances in total and committed zero errors.

Holaday was informed that he would not be retained on the Miami Marlins roster, presumably sometime today. As opposed to getting relegated to the triple-A level with the New Orleans Baby Cakes, in the Pacific Coast League, he’s exercising his opt-out clause. That means the Miami Marlins release him, and he does his best to hitch on elsewhere for the 2019 season. He joins fellow catcher Sharif Othman as a newly-minted free agent.

The Miami Marlins will rely on Jorge Alfaro to handle the every-day catching duties through the season. Chad Wallach, who is part of the Marlins 40-man roster, will serve as the primary backup. This leaves the emergency callup catcher decision in the hands of the Marlins front office, and they still have a few to choose from.

Nineteen-year-old Will Banfield is the catcher of the future, and we may be able to expect him, if all goes as planned, to attend major league camp with the Miami Marlins for the first time in 2021. Banfield was Miami’s second round choice in 2018. Nick Fortes was taken in the fourth round of the same draft, and may be more major-league ready, at the age of 22.

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Rodrigo Vigil may be the best hitting catcher remaining in the Miami Marlins system. He’s gunned down 36 percent of base stealers while slashing a decent (for a catcher) .248/.299/.316 line.

Vigil was one of nine catchers to get into Spring Training action with the parent club. Along with Wallach, Alfaro, Othman, Holaday, and Fortes, Vigil was also sharing time with Santiago Chavez, B.J. Lopez, and Wilkin Castillo, each of whom also remain in the organization.

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