The Red Sox and lefty Rich Hill have agreed to a minor league deal that will pay Hill $840K should he make the Major League roster, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post (on Twitter). The ACES client also has another $500K worth of appearance-based incentives built into his deal as well as a pair of opt-out clauses, which fall on May 15 and June 30. The soon-to-be 34-year-old can become a free agent on either of those dates if he is not on Boston's 25-man roster.
Hill spent the 2010-12 seasons in the Red Sox organization but saw just 31 2/3 innings of big league action in those three years. Much of his time with Boston was spent recovering from 2011 Tommy John surgery, but he did come back to fire 19 2/3 innings of 1.83 ERA ball for Boston in 2012.
Last offseason, Cleveland picked up Hill on a minor league deal, and Hill wound up throwing 38 2/3 innings out of the Indians' bullpen. The results weren't pretty, however, as he posted a 6.38 ERA with 11.9 K/9 but a bloated 6.8 BB/9 rate. Hill briefly looked like he could be a part of the Cubs rotation following a strong 2007 campaign, but shoulder surgery and Tommy John surgery have halted his career as a starter.
If Hill can keep his command under control, he could carve out a niche as a solid lefty specialist. Opposing left-handers have batted just .215 against him in his career, but he's also walked 14.5 percent of the left-handers he's faced in his Major League career.
