There are at least three teams making serious pushes to land southpaw Rich Hill, according to a report from WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford. The Rays, Brewers, and Mets are each in pursuit of the veteran hurler.
Hill is closing in on his 41st birthday, but still spun 38 2/3 innings of 3.03 ERA ball last year over eight starts with the Twins. There’s little question he’s deserving of an important role on a big league pitching staff, even if it’s unreasonable to expect he’ll turn in a full starter’s workload over the entirety of a 162-game season.
While the results were excellent, Hill did show some worrying signs in Minnesota (with the obligatory short-sample alert). He managed only a 31:17 K/BB ratio, far off of the sparkling strikeout and walk numbers he had routinely sported in prior years with the Dodgers. Hill also shed a few ticks off his fastball — not that he has ever been reliant upon overwhelming velocity.
It’s not surprising to see the Rays and Brewers in the hunt for Hill. Both teams have moved away from traditional pitcher usage patterns in recent seasons and would have little trouble scheming up ways to maximize Hill’s unique capabilities. The Mets do not fit in quite the same manner, but could plug the ageless southpaw into the back of their rotation mix and plan to get him regular respite from the typical five-day pitching schedule.
One team is notably absent from the set of reported pursuers: the Red Sox. Bradford notes that the Boston organization has seemingly backed away from its initial interest after making other additions. That’s likely a bit of a disappointment for Hill, who resides in Massachusetts and has made clear that geographical location is one of his chief concerns (along with the ability to compete for a title). For what it’s worth, the Mets are obviously nearby and the Rays play frequently in the northeast.
It’s amazing what he’s done after he looked like a washed up matchup lefty after his age 33 season.
He’s a gamer
He’s a lefty which always helps but I am a little surprised now that he’s been injured quite awhile now.
I stopped underestimating him after he was continuously successful in deceiving Mr. Firley and the Ropers for years on “Three’s Company.”
Stanley – yes; Helen – no way!
Would love to see the Red Sox bring back Hill, disappointing to see they are seemingly out of the running. Can’t help but continue to root for the guy, one of the best career comebacks in recent memory.
As I said with JBJ, until he signs I’m not believing Boston is still not in the conversation. Will depend on the other offers and each will likely take their best offer back to Bloom. No guarantees of course but why move if you don’t have to?
Well this is rich
Thank you, just thank you.
He may be 41, but he’s not over the hill yet.
maybe at 42 he’ll change his name to rich hole
Hill always seemed like he would be the Mets’ third option in the pecking order of Bauer, Kluber, and Hill, but since they have gotten some good SP depth recently I’d say it’s less of an issue now. Though man could the Brew Crew use some pitching depth right now. I think that’d be a great pickup for Milwaukee. Fill that rotation with inning eaters that’ll give you a 4.00> era and that team might have a serious chance in the central.
Of all the teams Milwaukee could use Hill the most. They need more offense too though ranked in the bottom 5 in the League.
Honestly I hope the Brewers don’t sign him I think they have enough in the minors to go with. But then again I think Smalls and Mitchell should be given a fair shot to start this year especially if you traded Lorain and Garcia. Go with Yellich, Mitchell, and Taylor in the outfield. They couldn’t do any worse offensively and think of all the money they can save and make a big trade at the deadline if they are in it
No way Mitchell is ready for the bigs without a single minor league a bat and Taylor’s bat screams 4th OF at best. Garcia was a disappointment in 2020, but you are seriously underrating Cain if you think there would be no drop off.
I never said there wouldn’t be a drop off but we handle it without him last year .Your definitely underestimating Taylor.he would be a wash with Garcia. Now Mitchell is more ready for the majors then Richie Weeks was.
I don’t believe Hill will be the inning eater you crave. He’s more of a 5 inning SP at this stage of his career. As far as the lower velo , well I’ll take a pitcher over a thrower any day even for the 5.
Yeah, I just looked over his innings totals for his career, and you’re right. He has never pitched 200 innings in his career and his highest innings total of his career came 15 years ago.
You definitely get quality over quantity (innings) with Hill.
He’s got bleesters on his feengers!
Is that you Ringo?
Hill isn’t a great fit for the Mets considering they already have Patterson & Lucceshi toward the back of their rotation. I still think that’s where Bauer goes. Hill makes a lot more sense for mid-market teams.
I see the Mets going after someone more like Jake Odorizzi if they lose out on Bauer. While Bauer obviously offers much higher upside, they may end up liking Odorizzi at say 3 years, $35 million more than they do Bauer at whatever he is asking for. Regardless, I’m sure they want someone who can soak up a lot of innings, which Hill can’t counted on for.
A lot of people want to say Odorizzi but I do not see that. He’ll be an expensive option for not much an upgrade over what they already have on their roster. A Trevor Cahill type for 1 year and half less than half the money will likely give you similar results.
He would supplant Lucchesi and probably Peterson. When healthy, he’s better than Lucchesi hands down.
With Peterson, he’s got one COVID season (50 innings) of good pitching under his belt. Could it have been a fluke? He didn’t exactly light the minors on fire, and had the Mets not desperately needed starting pitching, he probably wouldn’t have even started (especially if the minors hadn’t been canceled; Peterson skipped AAA entirely).
imo, Hill seems like a really good fit for the Mets.
Peterson and Lucchesi have options…
Despite what I said above, Hill could be perfect for the Mets. Get whomever else you need to get the team through the season and give a hopefully then healthy Hill the ball as a lefty after deGrom. Alternatively, sign him to pitch early until Thor returns. Just don’t depend on Hill to be healthy all year. When was the last time that happened? Given his age, there’s a better chance the former president proves he actually won the election.
Appears this will be Hill’s healthiest year…
Hill is too fragile…..
Hill has been around too long to call fragile. He is a big man with that nasty curveball. Wish my team would sign him.
His biggest recurring issue has been blisters, which have consistently caused him to miss games. When he is healthy and on his game, his curve is ridiculously good. That same curve, however, seems to often take its toll on his fingers.
Hey angels, maybe just like sign every starter still available. Not a fan, but trout needs help preventing runs.
I absolutely would have preferred signing Hill to trading for Alex Cobb if I were an Angels fan. Hill can’t be counted on for a lot of innings, but when he’s out there he has shown little sign of slowing down. Cobb is a #5 at this point.
no interest from Msaeachubaets?
Another LHP to SD?
Please no! He is made of glass.
Supposedly the Padres were still interested in Wainwright and Tanaka even AFTER acquiring Musgrove. So it’s certainly not out of the question that they could have interest in Hill. And he may be a perfect fit there, as someone who wouldn’t be counted on for a ton of innings. Adding him would give them arguably the best and deepest rotation in baseball.
Maybe over the hill but he has one of the best curveballs I’ve ever seen. Not to many pitchers can do it with one pitch. He is living proof it can be done. He definitely will challenge the hitters.
Not many lefties have a pitch that is so deadly thrown to RHB as that back foot curve.
I’d love to see him back on the Dodgers in something other than a starting role but he doesn’t fit into their game plan. I like the Rays rumor. He’d have a place on a team that likes to use openers.
Perfect fit for the Rays. He’d complete the rotation for the short term, w plenty of help on the farm.
They check bags at the Rays stadium. That didn’t go over too well last time
Nice one.
Hill would fit nicely in TB as an opener or even following the opener.
Kinda sucks the Red Sox have moved on, as they could still use another rotation piece. I cant imagine hes gonna cost a ton.
Gotta stay under that luxury tax at all cost.
It’s interesting that they were willing to give Richards and Martin Perez the contracts they did but weren’t willing to roll the dice on Kluber or Hill. I’ll take an old, injury prone Rich Hill over Martin Perez any day…
I’d actually have taken Hill over Richards. Not sure of the money it will take but suppose Hill was offered the same deal. This sounds bizarre but if you ‘were going to bet on who gives the team more value at the end of the deal, who do you take? In such a gamble, “smart” money still finds a way to sit the hand out but if I “had” to, I’d back Hill.
They were willing with Kluber, they just wanted to try and get that 2nd year option in case he bounced back and he wanted no part of it. He also wanted to play for a contender and the guy overseeing his recovery is in new york, so he really was the yankees to lose at that point
It’s a shame if only because he’s a native new englander that wants to come back again, but the negatives are glaring.. Blister issues, throws that curve over 50% of the time with a fairly violent motion and already had TJ before when was with Boston.. He’s really a walking injury risk and an older one at that,
Literally almost every SP for Boston had had TJ at this point. Eovoldi has had it twice. Their whole pitching core is an injury risk so padding it with a high upside when not injured is a good idea. Boston would have been well served to run a 6 man rotation with all these guys.
Hopefully Hill does good wherever he goes. Man’s had it hard his whole life
How did that Mets fan know about this article 9 hours ago. Weird
What are the Angels sitting on!?
Instead of chatwood and Liriano, Jays should’ve been on a Rich Hill.
Can anyone confirm if the Jays have checked in on him? I don’t believe I have seen any articles about it.
If you haven’t seen any articles, they will announce the signing shortly
Hahaha truth
Don’t want him on the Mets, even as a joke. They have no business chasing him. Hill hit Nimmo three times in one game in 2018, breaking his wrist because he felt Nimmo stood too close to the plate. Then, he spent the postgame in the locker room laughing about it. He should have been ear holed by the Mets but only Syndergaard has the balls to challenge the other team. This guy doesn’t deserve to be on the Mets.
mlb.com/video/nimmo-hit-by-pitch-exits-in-7th-c219…
Joe Kelly hit the Dodgers’ Hanley Ramirez in his (already injured) ribs in G1 of an NLCS. Now he’s a folk hero in LA for the Houston game.
Do you think the Mets could sign Connor Gilaspie to a deal?
3 teams, uh, ok:
1) Folsom City
2) Rikers Correctional
3) Cobb County Correctional
Best guesses.
A lot of recent signings have been pitchers close to the bottom of the dust bin.
Who else thought.. “Jesus, how old is Rich Hill” before opening?
Probably not Jamie Moyer.
Lefties last forever.
Seems like a perfect fit for what the Yankees have been doing this off season to deal with rotation issues. 1 year/$4.5M or something could probably get it done.
I think because of the short season last year, more teams will carry addition starters/swing men and pitchers like Hill will fit the bill. Tampa is a good spot for him.
Cubs need a lefty, probably too expensive though
Hill has value if he can pitch in the postseason. He’s effective and unflappable. But very injury prone. He’s from Milton, MA. What’s not to like?
He had an epic freak out when the dodgers played the Rays in 2019 when someone bunted opposite of the shift…. Curious how it would turn out if the shift-happy Rays sign him lol
As to his walk/strikeout ratio, perhaps he drew Angel an inordinate number of times.
Well, obviously not going to the Tigers. Chris Illich is too busy trying to convert the MLB to a horse hockey league……
The Hill chill!!!! I will always root for this guy. His story is very inspiring! I’m surprised the Cubs aren’t showing some interest. They could use him and it be cool to see him go back to where it started.
Hill would be a nice addition if you could sign players to half year contracts.
Surprised I haven’t heard any mention of the Jays being in on Hill. I’d really like to seen him in a Jays uniform even if it’s only 100 innings or so.
Hey Bloom Wake Up!!! We need pitching and he lives in the Massachusetts area! Remember Kluber also lives in the Boston area and you underwhelmed him!
My uncle also lives in Massachusetts, but i wouldn’t want him on the mound for the Sox
When your uncle can pitch then we will talk. But with our pitching staff I’ll take my chances with Rich Hill over your uncle.
Hill has a lot of miles left because he spent so much time on the DL with blisters on the Dodgers.
Why…. over the hill
Redsox resurrected his career and never benefited