Rockies promote slugging minor leaguer — Matt Holliday

The New York Yankees acquired catcher Chris Rabago off waivers from Colorado on Wednesday, which freed up spots on both the Rockies’ 25- and 40-man rosters.

They filled both spots with the same person, a slugging outfielder batting .346 at Triple-A Albuquerque.

His name is Matt Holliday.

The former Cardinals’ slugger will be in the Coors Field home dugout Friday when the Rockies open a three-game series with St. Louis.

Both teams have won eight of their last 10 games. St. Louis leads the National League wild card race, while Colorado sits just a half game behind Milwaukee for the second spot.

The Denver Post confirmed weeks of speculation that Holliday, 38, would return from whence he started. The seven-time All-Star was a seventh-round pick by Colorado in the 1998 MLB draft.

He authored his finest big-league season in 2007 by winning the National League batting title with a .340 average, and leading the NL in hits (216), doubles (50) and RBIs (132). Runner-up for NL MVP, Holliday also led Colorado that season to its only World Series appearance.

He had his greatest success as a member of the Cardinals, who acquired Holliday after a partial season in Oakland in exchange for top draft pick Brett Wallace and two others, then signed him to an eight-year deal worth $135 million. The Cardinals reached the postseason in five of Holliday’s eight seasons in St. Louis, including his only World Series championship in 2011 and an NL pennant in 2013.

Holliday left St. Louis after the 2016 season, when the team elected to not exercise a contract option.

Holliday is a career .299 hitter and averages 27 home runs and 105 RBIs per 162 games. In 105 games with the Yankees in 2017, he batted .231 with 19 home runs and 64 RBIs, but his one-year deal was not renewed and he signed a minor-league deal with the Rockies.

This story was originally published August 23, 2018 at 9:46 AM.