The Mariners agreed to a minor league deal with reliever Garrett Hill, according to the MLB.com transaction tracker. The former Tigers righty had elected minor league free agency in November.
Hill, 29, pitched for Detroit between 2022-23. He logged 60 1/3 innings across 17 appearances two seasons ago, turning in a 4.03 ERA. His 15.2% strikeout rate and 11% walk percentage weren’t encouraging. That caught up to him the following year, as he allowed more than a run per inning with as many walks as strikeouts across 15 2/3 MLB frames. The Tigers dropped Hill from their 40-man roster after that season. They circled back rather quickly to re-sign him on a minor league pact.
The San Diego State product opened last season on the injured list. He was reinstated in late May and assigned to Double-A Erie. Hill struck out nearly a third of opposing hitters and earned a promotion to Triple-A Toledo a couple months later. He had a tougher time at the top minor league level. Hill allowed 4.76 earned runs per nine over 28 1/3 frames. His strikeout rate fell to 21.7% while his walks jumped to an alarming 19.4% clip.
Hill isn’t likely to get consideration for an Opening Day bullpen spot in Seattle. He’ll begin the season in the upper minors and look to harness the swing-and-miss stuff he’s shown in the minors. Hill has a 28.7% strikeout rate and a near-11% walk rate over six minor league campaigns.
What about Amir Garrett?
I think he signed with Toronto.
Yeah that 28% career Milb K rate didn’t transfer to The Show, but that 11+% BB rate sure did. Who knows, maybe the Dipoto and Co. pitching factory can patch him up right quick?
Grant Hill was a heck of a bball player.
Grant Hill’s dad was a heck of a fball player too.
I seemed to think he was better than that in Detroit. The mind can play funny games with you, eh? I wish him luck.
I think he wore glasses on the mound. For some reason, I always liked players who wear their glasses.
If there’s one thing the Mariners do well it’s turn spare parts relievers into something worth having.
What I’ve read about the M’s philosophy with relievers is forget about any fringe pitches and throw your best pitches mostly. You don’t need a wide variety of pitches necessarily as you won’t be facing that many hitters in an outing.
Or it’s purely T-Mobile Park and the Mariners don’t actually do anything well:
Andres Munoz Home/Away Splits in 2024:
Home: 1-1, 32 IP, 0.28 ERA, 47 Ks, 0.531 WHIP, .080 BA
Away: 2-6, 27.1 IP, 4.28ERA, 30 Ks, 1.463WHI, .226 BA
These stats are not unique to Munoz. It’s basically what all their pitchers look like.
I forgot about this guy. He was once a pretty promising bullpen piece for the Tigers. I wish him well.
Why not… if your career is over, give Seattle a call!
Mr. DiPoto, some guy named MadBum on line one.