The Colorado Rockies almost didn’t get Greg Holland this past offseason

The Rockies almost didn't get Greg Holland this past offseason. The Washington Nationals were at one point in agreement with the former All-Star closer, Barry Svrluga reported yesterday. The miss was part of a couple of transactions that the Nationals did not make. A deal was evidently in place between the Nationals and Holland, but the club's ownership ultimately didn't go through with it:

"[A]ccording to people with knowledge of the situation, the Nats don’t have David Robertson of the White Sox because, when an offseason trade was in place, the club’s ownership balked. The Nats don’t have Greg Holland, the former closer for the Royals coming back from injury, because when a deal was in place, the Lerner family wouldn’t approve it. Holland now has a 1.14 ERA and has saved all 23 of his opportunities for Colorado, which leads the NL West."

Jon Heyman originally reported that the Nationals were finalists, but the owners didn't like the idea of a player vesting option. Now we know there was an actual deal in place, but the team didn’t pull the trigger.

The Rockies are obviously glad that deal fell through, as Holland has been a huge piece in their bullpen. He's been perfect in save opportunities, 23-for-23, and has a minuscule 1.14 ERA. In 23 2/3 innings, he's struck out 32 batters while walking 11.

The Nationals, on the other hand, have one of the worst bullpens in baseball. They're currently second-to-last in all of baseball with a bullpen ERA of 5.02. A big contributor to that has been the huge number of home runs they've allowed, 1.62 HR/9, which is dead last in all of baseball.