Pitcher Rich Hill is on his way back to the Boston Red Sox. The veteran left-hander officially signed a minor league contract with the team on Friday, according to Rob Bradford of WEEI.
This is the eighth time Hill, 44, has signed with the Red Sox. If he plays for Boston this season, it will be his fourth stint with the team.
Hill is expected to return to Triple-A Worcester on Sunday or Monday, after his son finishes a baseball tournament in Cooperstown.
In five seasons with Boston, Hill appeared in 70 games and started 30, going 12-8 with a 3.31 ERA and 181 strikeouts in 185 innings. Last year, Hill pitched for the Pittsburgh Pirates and San Diego Padres, making 32 appearances (27 starts) with a 5.46 ERA and 129 strikeouts in 146 1/3 innings.
Times Rich Hill signs with Red Sox:
August 16, 2024
December 1, 2021
August 14, 2015
March 26, 2014
February 1, 2014
December 13, 2011
December 16, 2010
June 30, 2010— Mike Petriello (@mike_petriello) August 16, 2024
During his 19 MLB seasons, Hill played for 13 teams. He has a career record of 90-73 with a 4.01 ERA, with an average of 9.1 strikeouts per nine innings.
Red Sox starting pitchers have a 3.97 ERA this season, which ranks 11th in MLB. But the rotation just lost James Paxton to a partially torn right calf, likely out for the rest of the season. Garrett Whitlock hasn’t pitched since April, and Lucas Giolito underwent season-ending elbow surgery.
Nick Pivetta, Tanner Houck, Kutter Crawford and Brayan Bello have struggled to be consistent. Cooper Criswell was reactivated Friday from the COVID-19 injured list. And Hill could soon rejoin the rotation.
The Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees have also reportedly expressed interest in Hill, MassLive’s Chris Cotillo reported.
Heading into Friday’s game, the Red Sox are third in the American League East with a 63-57 record, having lost six of their last eight games. Boston is 2.5 games out of the final wild-card spot in the American League playoffs.