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Cardinals activate Greg Holland

Stephen Dunn / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Help has arrived for the St. Louis Cardinals' beleaguered bullpen.

Greg Holland, an All-Star closer in 2017 who signed a one-year, $14-million deal with the Cardinals on Opening Day, was activated to the 25-man roster ahead of Monday's game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Busch Stadium, the team announced.

Right-hander Mike Mayers was optioned to Triple-A Memphis in a corresponding move.

Because Holland signed after spring training ended, the Cardinals had optioned him to High-A Palm Beach so he could get some work in before joining the big-league squad. He only became eligible to get recalled on Monday.

Holland appeared in two games with Palm Beach during his brief minor-league stint this week. In his final outing on Saturday, he threw 19 pitches and allowed a run on two hits while striking out one in his lone inning of work.

It's expected that the 32-year-old will immediately slide into the closer's role for manager Mike Matheny, who's surely hoping Holland will bring some consistency to the late innings. Cardinals' relievers have recorded just one save this season (Bud Norris did the honors), and while rookie fireballer Jordan Hicks has been a revelation, the team is still down three key members of the bullpen - Brett Cecil, Luke Gregerson, and Ryan Sherriff - due to injuries.

A three-time All-Star, Holland saved an NL-best 41 games for the Colorado Rockies last season after missing all of 2016 due to Tommy John surgery, helping him win NL Comeback Player of the Year.

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