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Report: Holland has interest from Padres, Yankees

Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports / Reuters

Despite a season jam-packed with injury, left-hander Derek Holland is drawing plenty of attention on the free-agent market, and two more suitors are now showing interest in the 30-year-old.

After Holland's agent, Michael Martini, told Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune the Pirates were on his client's shortlist, Holland is drawing interest from the San Diego Padres and New York Yankees, reports Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, citing baseball sources.

Holland recently told Wilson at a charity event he would prefer to return to the Texas Rangers, who declined his $11-million club option for 2017 last week, and wants to give them a chance to match any offers he's receiving as a free agent before making up his mind.

The one-time 16-game winner, who will enter free agency for the first time, said the process has taken a toll on him thus far, but if he didn't reunite with the Rangers, he'd still be excited about a potential new home.

"It’s a new beginning, a fresh start,” Holland explained. "Use that as a new challenge. It’s all about having fun and representing a new team. We’ve got to keep our options open and see what happens."

Holland was 7-9 with a 4.95 ERA during 22 appearances, 20 of which were starts, last season. He's made a total of 35 starts since 2014 while dealing with a number of issues in his throwing shoulder.

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