The Diamondbacks are taking a calculated swing on right-hander Grant Holman, claiming the 25-year-old off waivers from the Athletics in a move that speaks to both need and potential upside. Holman was recently designated for assignment by Oakland to make room for Aaron Civale on their 40-man roster.
To clear a spot for Holman, Arizona shifted lefty A.J. Puk to the 60-day injured list-a move that hints at both the severity of Puk’s recovery and the team’s urgency to bolster its bullpen depth heading into Spring Training.
Holman, a sixth-round pick by the A’s in 2021, made his big-league debut in 2024 and showed flashes of promise. Across 18 appearances, he posted a 4.00 ERA with a 3.87 FIP-solid numbers for a rookie arm, especially considering he struck out 22% of opposing hitters. The walk rate, however, was on the high side at 12.3%, a sign that while the stuff was there, the command still needed refining.
Expectations were understandably higher heading into 2025, but Holman’s sophomore season never quite found its footing. He logged just 23 innings in the majors, pitching to a 5.09 ERA with a 4.66 FIP.
His strikeout rate dipped to 16.5%, and the overall consistency just wasn’t there. Injuries played a role in that decline, as rotator cuff tendinitis sidelined him for most of the season.
In total, he managed only 32 1/3 innings between the majors and minors.
Still, there were signs of life late in the year. In a small sample at Triple-A, Holman tossed 9 1/3 scoreless innings and struck out 31% of the batters he faced. That kind of dominance, even in a limited stretch, is exactly the kind of upside that can catch a front office’s attention-especially one looking to patch together a bullpen early in the season.
And that’s where the Diamondbacks come in. With both A.J.
Puk and Justin Martinez expected to miss at least the first couple of months due to elbow surgeries, Arizona’s bullpen is in a bit of a holding pattern. Puk, who underwent a UCL revision rather than full Tommy John, could return by June.
Martinez, however, is on a longer timeline. That leaves the D-backs to lean on a mix of veterans like Michael Soroka and Paul Sewald, along with younger arms such as Kade Strowd and Andrew Hoffmann.
Holman now joins that mix-likely competing for a spot in the Opening Day bullpen during Spring Training. If he doesn’t crack the roster out of camp, he’ll head to Triple-A where he’ll stay in the conversation alongside names like Phillip Abner and Juan Morillo.
It’s a low-risk move with some intriguing upside. If Holman can stay healthy and recapture the form he flashed in his 2024 debut-and again briefly in Triple-A last year-he could be a useful piece in a bullpen that’s going to need all the depth it can muster in the early going.
For Arizona, this is the kind of roster move that doesn’t make headlines today but could pay dividends come June or July. Holman has shown he can miss bats. Now it’s about staying healthy, tightening up the command, and proving he belongs.