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          Keith Law Blog

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          Number of DH jobs shrinks with Holliday deal for Yankees

          Matt Holliday will take a swing at being a Yankee in 2017 after signing a one-year deal for $3 million., Justin K. Aller/Getty Images
          • Keith Law, ESPN Senior WriterDec 4, 2016, 07:53 PM ET
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            • Senior baseball analyst for Insider
            • Was special asst. to Blue Jays GM
            • Wrote for Baseball Prospectus
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          Matt Holliday didn’t make my top 50 free agents ranking after two years of poor offensive performance wrapped around injuries -- he played in 183 games the past two years, just 110 this past year, with a line that would make him below-average for a regular DH. The Yankees might be betting on a return to health and prior performance here, but $13 million assumes that Holliday is going to be better at 37 than he was at 36 even though he has seemed to be in decline for about three years now.

          Holliday hit .246/.322/.461 last year for St. Louis; all AL designated hitters total hit .254/.328/.452, and the thirteen players who served as full-time DHs hit .268/.342/.501.