Dodgers sign outfielder Tyler Holt to minor league contract

Baseball America has announced that the Dodgers have signed former Cincinnati Reds outfielder Tyler Holt to a minor league contract. Holt had been outrighted by the Reds to the Louisville Bats of the International League in October and then released by the Bats.

The right-handed hitting 27-year-old native of Marion, Indiana was selected by the Cleveland Indians in the 10th round of the 2010 First-Year Player Draft.

He has had a six-year minor league career in the Indians organization playing the 2014 and 2015 seasons with the AAA Columbus Clippers of the International League. During those two years he hit .308 and .302 respectively. Playing with the Indians affiliates at different levels he has had 25 or more stolen bases on five occasions.

In September of 2015 Holt, who had played 45 games with Cleveland, was selected off waivers by the Cincinnati Reds. During the 2016 season he spent the entire season with the Reds hitting .235 with an OBP of .327.

Tyler Holt
(Click on image to view video)

The 5’10”/200 pound outfielder played in 106 games with the Reds in 2016 although he started in just 33 games. However, in the games he did start he hit .261 with a .354 OBP. While patrolling the outfield he split his time relatively equally among all three outfield positions. Over his MLB career with Cleveland and Cincinnati he has made but one error in 165 total chances for a fielding percentage of .994.

Holt has had MLB experience, has a right-hand bat, can catch a ball and can run. He will make a nice addition to the Oklahoma City Dodgers and be available in a pinch to to the parent Dodgers.

Some Dodger fans may remember Tyler Holt. On Sunday, August 21 at Great American Ball Park he was brought in to pitch a game in which the Reds were being blown out by the Dodgers having given up six home runs. He pitched the ninth inning and actually did something pitchers from both teams struggled to do — worked a 1-2-3 inning using just five pitches. It was the first time the Reds had a position player pitch since former Dodger Skip Schumaker took the mound on August 21, 2014, during an 8-0 loss to the Braves.


Holt who hadn’t pitched since Little League was more than willing to pitch even though his main concern was that he would hit somebody.

He said he threw two 60-mph knuckleballs to get Joc Pederson to fly out to center, Howie Kendrick hit a batting-practice fastball to short, and Andrew Toles hit the same to center.

 

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6 Responses to “Dodgers sign outfielder Tyler Holt to minor league contract”

  1. SoCalBum says:

    one of the replacements for Corey Brown and Ricky Noel. Another RH hitter who struggles against LH pitching.

    • Bluenose Dodger says:

      I didn’t know Brown and Noel had signed elsewhere.

      Holt had small sample (49 AB) against LHP in the majors. Hit it well in his two AAA years with Columbus but MLB and AAA are two different creatures.

      • SoCalBum says:

        Fair point about performance against LH pitching in the minors. I don’t think Brown and Noel have signed with other teams, just don’t expect the 31 year old Brown (.249 at OKC) or soon to be 28 year old Noel (.230 at OKC) back. O’Koyea Dickson and Holt along with Verdugo and possibly Garlick, Scavuzzo, Micah Johnson in the OKC OF — Even Bellinger on occasion if first baseman Darin Ruff starts the season at OKC.

        • Bluenose Dodger says:

          That is a pretty good AAA outfield I would say without Brown and Noel. Not sure if any of those outfielders will be part of a trade package. Verdugo and Scavuzzo would be most at risk.

          The outfield at Tulsa would be thin but hopefully guys from RC move up (Ahart, Mieses, young Diaz) and I expect other minor league signings perhaps for that level. Narciso Mesa has already been signed.Not sure if Sandoval is ready to move up yet.

          • AlwaysCompete says:

            I have a very soft spot in my heart for these AAAA guys. Nothing really left to prove at AAA, but just not at the level to displace someone at the ML level. I hope Holt plays well enough to get back up sometime during the year.

            If there is an OF logjam at the top, I would not expect to see Ariel Sandoval starting in Tulsa. He needs to play and probably could use some real success at Rancho. Ahart, Diaz, and Toscano should move to Tulsa, and I would expect the logjam to hold back one of Scavuzzo or Garlick in Tulsa. While Mieses has the power to get to AA, he is still young enough that a start at Rancho to work on cutting down the K’s might seem warranted. The FO seems to like to push certain players, and IMO Diaz fits that description, and I will look forward to watching him become the RH version of Verdugo as a 20 year old at AA.

            Harold, I just reviewed the current Tulsa roster, and Joey Curletta is still listed. I know I read (and a goodgle search confirms) that he was the Player To Be Named Later in the Ellis/Ruiz trade. Did something happen to negate that portion of the trade?

  2. Bluenose Dodger says:

    AC – as far as I know nothing has happened to negate the trade. I think they are just slow to update the roster.

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