Holland on moving to the bullpen:
"To be honest, I have no idea what they’re doing… It’s more from the front office. We keep changing a lot of things, I did a fake injury, so I'm not happy about that. But at the end of the day, I'm going to do whatever they ask me to do." pic.twitter.com/3d7L3IUZIo
— KNBR (@KNBR) May 12, 2019
SAN FRANCISCO – After Saturday’s game it was announced that starting pitcher Derek Holland would be moved to the bullpen. Holland responded after the game with total honestly and even aired some of the Giants inner workings.
Holland was extremely frank when asked about the decision to move him to the bullpen as he openly criticized the front office.
“To be honest, I have no idea what they’re doing. I don’t mean that by Boch and them, It’s more from the front office,” Holland said. “We keep changing a lot of things, I did a fake injury, so I’m not happy about that. But at the end of the day, I’m going to do whatever they ask me to do.”
Though none of the Giants starting pitchers have had a stellar year, the young blood that fortified the rotation last year is now starting to suffer casualties. Dereck Rodriguez was sent to AAA Sacramento Saturday morning after his ninth straight home loss. The very same night Dereck Holland was told by manager Bruce Bochy that he would be moved to the bullpen.
“We’re going to use Holly (Holland) in the pen. He’s fresh, so he’s available tomorrow, so we’ll use him out of the pen if needed. He did it last year, so he’s going to help us out a little bit there,” Bochy said. “In the pen, he’s going to be the long guy, but also a guy that can face left handers. So we’re going to change his role.”
Derek Holland is 1 for 4 in his starts this year and has a 6.75 ERA. Last year Holland posted seven wins and had an 3.57 ERA.
As Hank Schulman pointed out, faking an injury is common but admitting to it is not and could land Holland in some trouble with the front office.
Here's the thing. Teams can't "fake" injuries. A doctor has to sign a document saying the injury is real and no doc worth his salt is going to risk his license for this. But players are sent to IL all the time with ailments they feel they can play through. They don't like it…
— Henry Schulman BLUE CHECK MARK (@hankschulman) May 12, 2019
… some hot water because "fake injury" is pretty inflammatory. But I'm sure he gained some more credibility in the room. Meanwhile, Zaidi, Bochy and the coaches are just trying to do what they can to compete. It's an interesting dynamic. #SFGIants
— Henry Schulman BLUE CHECK MARK (@hankschulman) May 12, 2019
If reprimanded this would not the first time that Holland’s words have gotten him into trouble after last year he was heavily criticized for impersonating Giants’ massage therapist Haro Ogawa on an appearance with the MLB Network.
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