It’s back to work for Brock Holt. The one-time All-Star and former Red Sox fan favorite is headed to D.C., where he’ll serve as both infield and outfield depth for the reigning World Champion Washington Nationals.
Holt is limping into his new gig after an underwhelming 16-game stint in Milwaukee where the versatile 32-year-old scraped together just three hits (all singles) in 30 largely forgettable at-bats. A nine-year vet who starred at Rice University in his native Texas before beginning his professional career as a ninth-round draft pick of the Pirates in 2009, Holt boasts a respectable .269 average for his career, though he’s rarely hit for power, amassing just 23 homers over his 2,067 big-league at-bats.
After battling vertigo and other post-concussion symptoms throughout the 2016 and ’17 campaigns, Holt returned to form in 2018, helping the Red Sox to a World Series—Boston’s fourth title in 15 years—by submitting career-highs in home runs (seven), RBI (46), slugging percentage (.411) and OPS (.774) while starting at all four infield positions as well as both corner outfield spots. That fall he also contributed a cycle, the second of his career and the first in MLB postseason history, in an ALDS rout of the Yankees. Holt followed up his strong 2018 season with an even better 2019, finishing with a tidy .297/.369/.402 slash line over 295 plate appearances in his Red Sox swan song.
The Nationals have largely disappointed this year, failing to replicate the success that led to their World Series triumph—a franchise first—over Houston in 2019. Despite its anemic 12-17 start, good for last place in the NL East, Washington remains just 2.5 games out of Wild Card position in this year’s expanded, 16-team postseason.
In Washington, Holt figures to see much of his time at third base, a position the Nats have struggled to fill since Anthony Rendon’s departure in free agency. The left-handed-hitting Holt has little experience in D.C., only logging eight career at-bats at Nationals Park. Many Red Sox fans had hoped for Holt’s return after the Brewers let him go last week, though that obviously didn’t materialize.
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