TUESDAY, 6:46pm: The D'Backs announced the two-year contract today in a press release. MLB.com's Steve Gilbert tweets that Hill passed his physical, making the deal official.
SUNDAY, 8:30pm: The Diamondbacks may have declined Aaron Hill's option last month, but the second baseman will still be calling Chase Field his home. The two sides have agreed to terms on a new two-year contract that will pay Hill $11MM.
Hill, who will be 30 years old on Opening Day, came to the Diamondbacks along with John McDonald in an August trade that sent Kelly Johnson to the Blue Jays. He flourished in his new surroundings, hitting to the tune of a .315/.386/.492 triple slash line with a pair of round-trippers. In the field, UZR suggests that his defense has been a plus over the course of his career, with a UZR/150 of 4.2. His career 6.2% walk rate is below league average, but he also doesn't strike out very often (12.6% career).
Overall, Hill batted .246/.299/.356 in 2011 and hit just eight home runs after averaging 31 long balls from 2009-2010. He broke out with a monstrous season in 2009, hitting 36 homers and batting .286/.330/.499, but has been unable to recreate that level of success. He doesn't need to return to that form to justify the value of his new deal, but if he continues his Arizona renaissance, he'd be a massive bargain for the Snakes.
MLBTR's Tim Dierkes ranked Hill 38th on his list of Top 50 Free Agents. He was one of eight MLBTR writers who correctly predicted the Diamondbacks for Hill's destination in MLBTR's Free Agent prediction contest.
Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio first tweeted that the two sides would complete a deal within the next three days, while Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic tweeted that an agreement had been reached and SI.com's Jon Heyman tweeted the final details. Hill is represented by the Legacy Sports Group, as MLBTR's Agency Database shows.
8MM was too much guaranteed money… let’s give him even more! ¬_¬.
You misunderstand. Hill’s options were 8 mill per year for 2012 and 13. He signed for just over 5 mill per year..The Diamondbacks got a deal.
assuming he’s going to be the aaron hill from 3 years ago, yes
Hill doesn’t have to be the Hill from 2008-09 for this to be a good deal. Take a look around, there aren’t many 2b in the game who can even hit 15 hr’s anymore and still play decent defense. Hill could hit .250+ with 15 hr’s and 60 rbi’s a year and his salary would be very justified compared to other 2b.
He could also get on base at a .265 clip and be terrible at baseball again.
“Hill doesn’t have to be the Hill from 2008-09 for this to be a good deal”
that’s true. he just has to avoid being the aaron hill from 2010 and 2011
but if he is, it doesn’t make this a bad deal, just a market-value deal.
unless you factor in opportunity cost
The Hill from 2008 sat out most of the year with a concussion…his only really good season was the 2009 season. He will lead the league in popups though so just tell the opposing fielders to set up with their arms spread out and looking up at the sky. In the AL that was known as the “Aaron Hill Defense”.
dude, please tell me you don’t spend all of your time on this site
I didn’t misunderstand. 8 < 10, I used the word "guaranteed money" and not "MM per year" for a reason…
You misunderstand. Hill’s options were 8 mill per year for 2012 and 13. He signed for just over 5 mill per year..The Diamondbacks got a deal.
First one right.
First one right for me too, no thanks to Ruben Amaro and Co….
Yeah, RAJ screwed me out of Papelbon and Madson. And I was feeling so good when Madson ‘reportedly’ signed with the Phils.
same here
First one right for me too, no thanks to Ruben Amaro and Co….
Another need crossed off for the Dbacks. Now they can focus on pitching and maybe another hitter or two.
@Mario, 2 years worth a little more than 10 mil averages out to less than 8 mil per year.
@Mario, 2 years worth a little more than 10 mil averages out to less than 8 mil per year.
hence the 2 words “guaranteed money”.
ugh, 1 for 3
wait, he was top 50? i dont remember him being there
Edit: woohoo, got him right. 1/3.
yes he was, i had him going to the mets
really? i’m pretty sure tejada (if reyes signs) or murphy (if reyes doesn’t sign) are locks for second
I had the Yankees signing everyone.
“…but has been unable to recreate that level of success.”
A bit of an understatement.
Great deal for the Dbacks
Hill hated being in Toronto, and recaptured his all star form coming to Arizona. Prediction, Hill will OPS over 850 both years
He “hated” being in Toronto did he? Did he “hate” being in Toronto in 2009? Please tell us where you get your “inside” information. Perhaps you could be a contributor here at MLBTR.
Don’t be such a jerk. He could be wrong, but doesn’t mean you have to go bust his balls or anything.
Explain why.
So you feel the need to be unnecessarily rude when you see something you don’t agree with? I suggest you get some therapy.
So you feel the need to be unnecessarily rude when you see something you don’t agree with? I suggest you get some therapy.
Explain why.
Don’t be such a jerk. He could be wrong, but doesn’t mean you have to go bust his balls or anything.
its true, it was evident in his body language
Things got bad in Toronto after 2010. He needed a change. Aaron Hill is a very good hitter, when his swing is tight and compact, everything comes off of it in a line. Near the end, you could tell that he was just begging to get out
The only thing he was “begging” to get out of were his poor hitting habits.
its true, it was evident in his body language
Things got bad in Toronto after 2010. He needed a change. Aaron Hill is a very good hitter, when his swing is tight and compact, everything comes off of it in a line. Near the end, you could tell that he was just begging to get out
lol Hill hated being in Toronto… sure buddy.
And I’ll take the under on that bet, hell I’d bet he’ll his below .750 over two years. It is the NL West though… anything can happen there.
lol Hill hated being in Toronto… sure buddy.
And I’ll take the under on that bet, hell I’d bet he’ll his below .750 over two years. It is the NL West though… anything can happen there.
hi, i’m a padres fan and i approve of this message.
oh so your the Padres fan
always wondered who keeps cheering for them
There were rumours about a fan, i guess he does exist
If you’re going to troll, please at least make it humorous and not stupid.
exactly. says him who is a D-Backs fan
ooooooo the D-Backs have fans now because national TV showed them filling up the stadium during the playoffs
Playoffs. Sounds great doesn’t it.
If you’re going to troll, please at least make it humorous and not stupid.
The 26,000 average fan attendance at Petco would like to file a complaint.
Being in the NL West and not the AL East will only improve Hill’s play. This could be seen as bargain contract once the two years are up.
i don’t like him as a bounceback candidate. there are three pitcher-friendly parks in the nl west and some really good pitching staffs. that’s not to mention the general lack of potency of the dback’s lineup compared to toronto. for a guy who derives most of his offensive value from the long-ball i don’t like him leaving the AL east.
If i was a guy who derived most of my offensive value from the long-ball I would be ecstatic to be playing half of my games in a very hitter friendly park in Chase Field along with 15 or so at Coors.
I also wouldn’t say there are great staffs in the NL West. There are some great pitchers but other than the Giants the other staffs have holes. And right now 2 of the teams, the Rockies and Padres, are going to be relaying heavily on young, unproven pitchers.
I’m pumped! I think Hill simply needed a change of environment and he clearly showed he still has the skill to play and I’m excited to see what he will do for us.
good deal both ways. Hill only needs to be around 1 WAR for the next two years for the DBacks to break even, and he was worth 2 WAR the last two years, when he was “terrible” (not that 1 WAR a season is good or anything)
Hill is the exact person that you don’t want to give multi-year deals to though. He’s 30, which means that he’s (probably) on the decline. Given the fact that he’s got back to back seasons of terribleness, and is set to decline, maybe a multi-year contract is the worst idea ever or something.
okay, in his 2 WORST SEASONS EVER he averaged 1 WAR. Even if his WORST SEASON EVER continues, he’ll likely break even on the contract. If he comes back to career levels, which is about 2.5 WAR per season, he’ll be more than worth the contract. Will he return to career norms? I dunno. Is it out of the question? No.
that’s an imperfect analysis though. there are plenty of guys that can give you 1 WAR over 140 games for less than $5M. so you might “break even”, but the opportunity cost means you still wasted money
he could certainly be better than a 1 WAR player and that’ll be gravy. but he hasn’t been that good since 2009, so it’s a plausible worst-case scenario
sure, but Hill still has upside. At WORST he’s a .5~1 WAR player. At BEST he’s a 3~4 WAR player.
that’s true, but separate from the point i’m making
we’re talking about a plausible worst-case scenario in which he continues to be what he’s been for the past two seasons. your assertion was that the dbacks still make their money back in that scenario. i’m pointing out that making your money back isn’t quite good enough when we’re talking about investment in a 1 WAR talent on a 2 year deal. the opportunity cost makes it a mistake
true enough that he could be better than that. but he does have to be better than that imo for this deal to make sense
and here’s hoping he is better than that. i don’t want it to be a fail. i’m just talkin’ baseball here
Alright, if my assertion was that the DBacks still make their money back even if hill doesn’t rebound, I was wrong, and I take it back. I was trying to argue that even if he plays like the last two seasons, it’s not loss, or a huge loss anyways.
definitely not a huge loss. dissecting a 2/11 deal = we’re bored
so bored.
NO. He’s 30. Players begin to decline by half a WAR per season on average beginning at age 29. Hill went for the decline at age 28. Saying he has upside is like saying Vernon Wells has upside.
Wait…are you saying Aaron Hill has Vernon Wells upside? I’ll trade you a power-hitting catcher for him…just as soon as I find a job!
–T. Reagins
Way to overgeneralize to the maximum and then try to apply it to every player.
I am beginning to think Hill lied about his age
Yeah, that’s all cool. But why give him two years?
And being a GM isn’t about breaking even on contracts, especially when you have one of the lower payrolls in baseball. You’ve got to squeeze every bit of value out of your players and get a surplus out of the contracts.
I’m saying at WORST he breaks even (or slightly worse). At BEST he provides good surplus value.
At worst he breaks even? What if he’s worth negative WAR over the contract?
Wasn’t his 2010~2011 his WORST years? If he keeps up those numbers, he’ll almost be worth the contract. He’s never posted negative WAR in his career.
They were his worst seasons so far. Remember before the season when everyone said that he was due for a rebound? He needed a 3 week anomaly at the end of the year just to get back to almost league average value. He was below replacement level for the better part of the season. And again, typically, players begin to decline at age 29.
That three week anomaly took place in his new home ballpark, also, Toronto’s culture didn’t suit Hill as a player. He is a line drive hitter, who hits homeruns, when he gets long and tries to hit homeruns, he pops out a lot, like in Toronto.
this is actually a common mistake i see a LOT of here on these boards. contrary to common belief, a baseball’s player’s prime is at 30 – not 27 (although physically/athletically his prime is at this age). 3 years of experience (mostly getting to know the league better) is extremely valuable.
Hill is the exact person that you don’t want to give multi-year deals to though. He’s 30, which means that he’s (probably) on the decline. Given the fact that he’s got back to back seasons of terribleness, and is set to decline, maybe a multi-year contract is the worst idea ever or something.
Not a bad deal. He has room to drop off his production as a D’Back from 2011 and still be a decent starting 2b. The 2b market pretty much stinks. If Jamey Carroll is getting paid $3.5 mil, paying Hill $5 mil is a bargain by comparison.
Hill has two good seasons in his career, while Carroll has outWARed Hill in 4 of the 6 years that both have been in the league. Why is paying Hill more than Carroll a bargain for ARI in any way?
Carroll’s career best season was 5 hr’s and 36 rbi. He’s going to be 38 next year, signed through age 39, and is being asked to be an everyday SS, something he has never been in his major league career.
Carroll’s career WAR is 15.7 in 10 seasons. Hill’s career WAR is 17.2 in 7 seasons.
Hill has never had fewer than 50 rbi in any full season. He’s had 3 years with at least 17 hr and 68 rbi. He has plenty of room to fall off from his production as a D’Back last year and still be a solid to above avg. Major League starting 2b. I would expect at least 12-15 hr’s and 60+ rbi’s, but don’t expect him to be an all star. Still, that’s well worth $5.5 mil per year.
Go find another 2b that is available and is making $5.5 mil or less that’s worth anything. The market stinks. Kelly Johnson is the next best thing but will cost a team either their 1st rounder or 2nd rounder in compensation.
1. Carroll hasn’t been a regular his whole career.
2. You’re using RBI’s in an argument.
3. Carroll gets on base at an incredibly higher rate than Hill.
4. My main argument all night long hasn’t been that Hill is useless, but that he doesn’t deserve a 2-year contract because he’s coming off consecutive dumpster fire seasons.
are we trying to make a point about who has had the better career or trying to figure out who is the better investment for the future? if the former, go ahead and use career numbers. if the latter, use the previous 3 seasons of data (4 at most) and weight them. what hill and carroll did 5 and 10 years ago has no predictive value at all
Hill has two good seasons in his career, while Carroll has outWARed Hill in 4 of the 6 years that both have been in the league. Why is paying Hill more than Carroll a bargain for ARI in any way?
now all that’s left to do is get a backup for Goldschmidt and a few pitchers. Wouldn’t mind Arthur Rhodes as a second lefty
The sad thing is, the best available back-up left-handed first baseman appears to be Lyle Overbay
….or Juan Miranda
Maybe Ross Gload
..or James Loney once the Dodger sign Fielder.
If they can sell the team
Or James Loney once the Dodgers rightfully non-tender him.
..or James Loney once the Dodger sign Fielder.
Maybe Ross Gload
….or Juan Miranda
The sad thing is, the best available back-up left-handed first baseman appears to be Lyle Overbay
Receiving 5M in 12 and 13 should help Aaron regain his former composure. In Toronto, he was asked to see a pitch and hammer it in the Cito era. In Arizona, he is only asked to wait for his pitch and hit it where it is pitched, accounting for his higher average and OPS in Arizona. Hill is a line drive hitter that uses the whole field. When he became too pull-happy, his numbers dropped off the table and it affected his defense. It is an excellent signing by Arizona and the 5M price tag will be eclipsed easily in the desert, when he has a full season to just be himself. If anyone says it is too much or he isn’t good, you are wrong. As a Jays fan, I have watched his whole career from day one and what I saw in Arizona was the real Aaron Hill. We wish him well and success in the future.
Aaron Hill is a dead pull hitter.
Maybe the dry heat helped his eye sight. Guy doesn’t swing at bad pitches anymore either.
Receiving 5M in 12 and 13 should help Aaron regain his former composure. In Toronto, he was asked to see a pitch and hammer it in the Cito era. In Arizona, he is only asked to wait for his pitch and hit it where it is pitched, accounting for his higher average and OPS in Arizona. Hill is a line drive hitter that uses the whole field. When he became too pull-happy, his numbers dropped off the table and it affected his defense. It is an excellent signing by Arizona and the 5M price tag will be eclipsed easily in the desert, when he has a full season to just be himself. If anyone says it is too much or he isn’t good, you are wrong. As a Jays fan, I have watched his whole career from day one and what I saw in Arizona was the real Aaron Hill. We wish him well and success in the future.
To all those who said Hill recaptured his form in Arizona at the end of the season, three words “small sample size”, he may turn it around but I doubt it good luck paying him 5 mil a year for the next two years
Dude, 5M is 1 WAR, roughly. He’s been worth exactly that for the last 2 years.
Mostly based on defense though, so you can’t assume as he gets older that his legs won’t betray him any further. He’s already begun a defensive decline, if his bat doesn’t wake up he’s not a 1 war player
That’s true. But I’ll bet on him having an OBP north of .300 next season.
In 2009 his obp was .330 and that was his best offensive year …. I’d gladly take that bet. Sub .320 for sure
His best career OBP is actually .349. His career average is .321. And my figure was .300, not .320 😛
The player that posted a .349 obp is long gone, his swing and style have completely changed, the power stroke ruined his ability to lay off bad pitches
Changing your swing late in your career is impossible.
– Jose Bautista
he can definitely change back to the player he was, but that player had no power. He’s never had a season where he’s gotten on base and shown power, its been one or the other, or in last years case, neither
This has the potential to be a really good deal for the Dbacks. Chase Field is even more hitter friendly than Rogers Centre. If he can even smack 15-20 bombs and keep up a decent average he’ll be worth it.
He’s already got a great track record in fielding (I use UZR) you have Ryan Roberts/Stephen Drew/Aaron Hill/ Paul Goldschmidt infield that can save a lot of runs. And their outfield is already fantastic so it could be one of the most well defended teams next year.
Aaron Hill is not a good fielder. His range is getting worse by the minute, especially to his right.
This is a warm corpse deal for Arizona.
Ive watched Hill ever since he started in toronto and 1 thing i can tell you is his fielding is quite good, thats never been his problem.
So have I and Hill’s defense has gotten much worse in the last two years. If you haven’t noticed then you aren’t watching as many games as you say you have.
He was one of the best defenders in 2009, and yes, he’s gotten worse. Doesn’t mean he’s not a plus defender still.
yea, no. at worst, he’s an average fielder. +10 on average according to DRS and +/- over the last 3 years; dead average (0) for UZR/150; +4 for TZL
hill’s inconsistency is with the bat, not the glove
Question, how many games do you actually watch? Consider the following.
The top eight defensive 2nd baseman, based on their mlb career. Five years is the minimum, displaying how good they are.
1 – Pedroia – BOS – 5 years – 32 errors – 436 DP’s, Fielding % – .990
2 – Phillips – CIN – 9 years – 67 errors – 659 DP’s, Fielding % – .987
3 – Hill – ARI – 6 years – 64 errors – 593 DP’s, Fielding % – .985
4 – Cano – NYY – 6 years – 82 errors – 728 DP’s, Fielding % – .985
5 – Utley – PHI – 8 years – 97 errors – 710 DP’s, Fielding % – .983
6 – Kinsler – TEX – 5 years – 86 errors – 604 DP’s, Fielding % – .979
7 – Infante – ATL – 9 years – 91 errors – 466 DP’s, Fielding % – .975
8 – R. Weekes – MIL – 8 years – 113 errors – 482 DP’s, Fielding % – 967
Since Hill ranks third in fielding out of 30 teams, tell everyone again how he is a terrible player on the field.
… that was about the worst way to argue that he’s a good defender.
Hate to break it, but you just wasted a bunch of time, since fielding percentage is fairly useless.
Beyond that, using 5-year samples is misleading as a predictive measure — Hill has pretty clearly declined defensively over the last two years, and my best guess is that 0 of the above mentioned players profile in the same way they did 5 years ago, which will throw off your data pretty significantly.
and your second best defensive shortstop of all time: chris gomez
Aaron Hill is not a good fielder. His range is getting worse by the minute, especially to his right.
This is a warm corpse deal for Arizona.
Aaron Hill is a stud who just had a bad year last season. I think he’s gonna be really good for the Diamondbacks in the years to come. It’s a nice low risk/high reward sign.
Hes had two bad seasons in a row.
he was worth 2 WAR in those 2 seasons
That doesnt mean you should settle for 1 war out of your starting 2bman. KJ was and still is the better option but i guess you hope they both bounce back , only difference is that KJ is only 1 year removed from a great season where as hill is two.
Of course. Just saying, it’s a fair, market-value deal, and hill can still bounce back (however unlikely it is) and provide surplus value.
Which is a WAR/season below league average.
not disputing that.
Hes had two bad seasons in a row.
Aaron Hill is a stud who just had a bad year last season. I think he’s gonna be really good for the Diamondbacks in the years to come. It’s a nice low risk/high reward sign.
Hill will be one of the best bargains in the MLB next year.
Greatest bargain of 2011: Jacoby Ellsbury– $2.4MM, 9.4 WAR
Greatest bargain of 2012: Aaron Hill- $5ishMM, 15.2 WAR?
Greatest bargain of 2011: Jacoby Ellsbury– $2.4MM, 9.4 WAR
Greatest bargain of 2012: Aaron Hill- $5.5MM, 15.0 BB’s
fixed that for you
They already shot themselves in the foot by trading Johnson away, signing Hill isn’t a mistake but if it really is north of 2/10 that is…
But you can’t go back in time and stop that trade, and they need a 2B, so their options were Hill, convert somebody they currently have, or promote from within. Third option is not feasible, second option could be but apparently Roberts is the best candidate, and his defense at 2B was not great this season.
Find a better option with more upside at that price.
Arizona acquired Hill because we needed Johnny Mac as a backup SS because Drew went down, Aaron Hill was merely a replacement by using Kelly Johnson as the trading chip to get the two. Toronto’s season was lost and had assumed both would re-sign with them (as they said they would) but that didn’t happen. Now Arizona, unsure about Drew’s future has opted to keep Johnny Mac as a backup and based on Hill’s fantastic 2nd half of last season they decided he was their best option because there weren’t any others.
Kelly Johnson was also clubhouse cancer, and we brought two players with great attitude while getting rid of a bad apple who struck out too much.
Jays fans trying to ridicule this deal is kind of hilarious. If Anthopoulos let KJ go for 2 picks and signed Hill to 2/$10M, I’d be pretty happy.
Your love affair for hilll is apparent, i like hill , but honestly id rather take a chance on KJ then bring back hill , hill cant draw a walk and his power has dimished quite significantly with an ops in the .600’s the last two years , why on earth would you want him back as your 2bman? 5 mill isnt horrible for hill because i think hell be a bit better then the last two years but , KJ is younger is a lefty and can draw a walk and his power is still there. The picks would be nice but theres not much else on the market for 2b.
lol, I don’t even like Hill. I’d much rather have Kelly Johnson, who’s a much better player. But KJ’s a type A, and to the Jays front office a draft pick is extremely valuable, more so than it is to other teams, at least in my opinion. I don’t think the Jays are competing next year, unless they really go crazy this offseason.
I agree they wont contend but will improve and KJ might be necassry for a stop gap for a couple years, who else could they use ?
waiting for Hechavarria seems like the best option to me. Even without a good bat he’s probably a 2~3 WAR just on defense at SS. Move Escobar over to 2B, and you’ve got an excellent mid-infield.
Excellent is an understatement.. Have u seen hech live yet? He’s unreal
well, his bat is also unreal, in a different sense of the word.
yah, but he plays one of very few positions where you can tolerate a weaker bat and not only that but he plays it exceptionally well
Bring him up, bat him ninth for the whole year, move escobar to 2B, it will be one of the best defensive infields in the league..
I’d prefer to sign KJ, i mean the pick seems nice, but he’s the best 2B FA and the farm system is beefed up, its time to start putting the talent on the field
waiting requires a stop gap though lol
Mike McCoy!
Hes the johnny mac of the bench now, he shouldnt be starting, please god dont let them start him!
I just made very nice arguments in the other post about Mat Gamel so let me continue my arguing; this time on Aaron Hill.
*all caps indicates highlighting, not shouting*
Many are saying this is going to be a bargain. This is deal is just as stupid as Juan Rivera’s horrible deal with the Dodgers. Just because a guy gets dealt to your team and in 100 PA he shines, HE BY NO MEANS HAS RETURNED TO HIS OLD FORM NOR DOES HE DESERVE A MULTIYEAR DEAL OF GUARANTEED MONEY. Aaron Hill’s only good years that deserved 5M were in 2007 and 2009; he has been bad the rest of his career. What he should have got was a 1 year incentive-laden deal that adds up to 5M if he completes everything on it.
He’s been worth an average of $4.5M for 2010 and 2011, and those were his worst years.
Yes, that is what he actually earned. Is it what he was worth? That is a contract that he was given to because of performances prior to 2010.
Keep the arguments flowing, I love winning
yeah, that’s what he was worth. 2 WAR over two seasons = $9M in value.
I suppose there is a reason why the people at Fangraphs run a website and not a front office. if you could explain why I’ll give you the argument
Look I know people are saying this has the POTENTIAL to be a very good deal, which is true. It has POTENTIAL. To guarantee it to work out, an incentive contract would have been most appropiate, esp. given his recent OVERALL years
Tom Tango works for a front office.
“Tom Tango of Inside the Book stated that “the value of a win on the
free-agent market is between $4 million and $5 million dollars.””
You lose!
a 100 win team’s payroll is never between 400-500M
well, duh. It says free-agent market. If you can make a 100-win team composed completely of free agents, it’ll cost that much.
Wins!= Wins above replacement.
that too
yeah, that’s what he was worth. 2 WAR over two seasons = $9M in value.
Hill or Rivera?
Hill. At least he can defend.
Hill. At least he can defend.
He’s been worth an average of $4.5M for 2010 and 2011, and those were his worst years.
I just made very nice arguments in the other post about Mat Gamel so let me continue my arguing; this time on Aaron Hill.
*all caps indicates highlighting, not shouting*
Many are saying this is going to be a bargain. This is deal is just as stupid as Juan Rivera’s horrible deal with the Dodgers. Just because a guy gets dealt to your team and in 100 PA he shines, HE BY NO MEANS HAS RETURNED TO HIS OLD FORM NOR DOES HE DESERVE A MULTIYEAR DEAL OF GUARANTEED MONEY. Aaron Hill’s only good years that deserved 5M were in 2007 and 2009; he has been bad the rest of his career. What he should have got was a 1 year incentive-laden deal that adds up to 5M if he completes everything on it.
That’s a solid deal for the DBacks.
Hill has been terrible the past 2 years but he’s also shown to be a very good 2nd baseman in the league and showed life when he got traded to the DBacks.
He played well in Toronto for most of his career and seems like a nice guy. I hope it works out for him and he returns to his old form.
Never got on base enough, even in his breakout year he couldn’t take a walk to save his life.. But met him a few times, and you’re right, genuinely nice guy.. But I’m glad jays will have a new 2b in 2012
I’d take Hill over Kelly being a Dbacks fan. From what I saw of course was an awful almost 3/4 of a season from KJ and an excellent 1/4 of a season of Hill, so of course I’m biased but I really like this deal for us. Hill is cheaper and could end up being a bargain. He played really well in the playoffs too, had a few doubles and a 3 hit game to go along with a homer.
hey there has been plenty of times that a change of scenery has worked out positively for a player, I doubt the 2009 Aaron Hill will ever come back, but he still has a good chance of being a .280/.330/.430 with 20 HR’s
Couldn’t agree more. I really think he can turn it around.
…those numbers potentially, and you’re glad the Jays are gonna have a new 2nd baseman. Haha ok…
yes because he needed a change of scenery. whats so difficult to understand?
Thank god Dbacks.. so happy our infield is locked up now we just need to focus on getting one more veteran starter, maybe Joe Saunders, maybe Kuroda.. idk we will see.
Joel Pineiro the likely option
Is Drew not expected to come back this year? I guess I’m confused as to why they signed Hill, Bloomquist, and McDonald, yet also have Roberts and Drew for 3 spots on the infield. I know McDonald and Bloomquist aren’t every day guys, but i would want my part time players to have a bit more upside than that crop
Yea, its weird. Mabe the GM did it by accident. I accidently signed 4 middle infielders on mlb the show once… Turns out you can put and player at any position so…
Drew isn’t expected to be 100% until June or July, and a possible position move to 3rd base might be required.
I was hoping the Dodgers would sign him … my post on the Dodger forum
“I would be interested in targeting Aaron Hill for 2B. His $8M option
was declined by the D-Backs. He had a huge 2008 where he hit 30+ HR and
drove in 100+.
I doubt he’ll ever get back to that level but I think 18 HR and 75 RBI is something he could put up on a regular basis.
3 yr $14M with incentives to push up to $20M
“
And the Dodgers paid 8.75 million for Ellis? I would have gladly kicked in 2.25 million extra to get Hill.