Former Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Rich Hill is looking to sign with a team for the remainder of the season after taking the first half off to be with his family and coach his son’s Little League team.
Hill reportedly pitched for interested clubs Friday, including Champion Physical Therapy and Performance in Waltham, Massachusetts. The Dodgers, New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Minnesota Twins also reportedly expressed interest in him.
The veteran tried to make his schedule fit for the 2023 season, but was unable to do so. He eventually signed a one-year, $8 million contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He made 22 starting appearances and posted an earned run average of 4.76.
Pittsburgh sent him to the San Diego Padres at the trade deadline, which proved to be a disaster. The club was struggling and so was Hill. He was moved to the bullpen and eventually placed on waivers, but remained unclaimed. In his 10 appearances for San Diego, he recorded an ERA of 8.23.
According to Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe on X, the free agent hit the mound in July and began drawing interest from the Yankees and Dodgers at that time.
Hill is considering only such contenders as he chases a World Series ring that has eluded him his entire career. He was a postseason pitcher for the Cubs in 2007 and then for the Dodgers from 2016 to 2019, but in 2020 he was with the Twins when the Dodgers won the World Series.
Los Angeles has placed 11 pitchers on the injured list at least once this season, and the addition of Hill could potentially be an impactful addition since River Ryan lands on the injured list for the rest of the season on Saturday night.
The 44-year-old has a career ERA of 4.01 and spent more than 19 years in the MLB. He broke through with the Chicago Cubs, where he had one of his best seasons in 2007. That season, he pitched 195 innings with an ERA of 3.92.
From 2008 to 2015, he struggled with injuries and poor performance, never reaching 60 innings in any of those seasons, but he came back with a bang with the Dodgers in 2016. During his tenure in Los Angeles (2016-2020), Hill had a 3.01 ERA, a 28.3 percent strikeout rate and an 8.2 percent walk rate in 476 innings.
Photo credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports
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