For Matt Holliday, his career is coming full circle.
After being drafted in the seventh round by the Rockies of the 1998 MLB Draft, Holliday is now returning home to where his career began now that the Colorado has purchased his contract from Triple-A Albuquerque on Thursday morning. Holliday will once again be added to the Rockies’ major-league roster, according to the Denver Post.
Roughly an hour after Holliday’s contract was purchased, Rockies manager Bud Black went onto KOA radio and told everyone that Holliday will be starting in left field on Thursday afternoon. The 38-year-old Holliday is expected to used primarily as a pinch hitter off of the bench, but he should also get some time at first base or in the outfield in a role similar to that of former Rockies slugger Jason Giambi, who excelled for the team in that capacity from 2009-12.
In a brief stint with the Albuquerque Isotopes, Holliday showed much of what made him such a great hitter throughout his long 18-year MLB career. In 15 games with the Isotopes, Holliday has hit three home runs, has 15 RBI, is batting .346 and has an OPS of 1.048.
Holliday spent five of his 18 seasons in the Mile High City and he was an All-Star three of those years. He even was the runner-up for the National League MVP award in 2007 when he hit .340 and had 36 home runs and 137 RBIs. For a Rockies team that is fighting for postseason contention, having someone as wise and experienced as Holliday will only help.