Pitcher Rich Hill is on his way back to the Boston Red Sox. The veteran left-handed pitcher officially signed a minor-league deal 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 pitches for Boston this season, it will be his fourth stint with the team.
Hill is expected to play at Triple-A Worcester on Sunday or Monday after his son completes a baseball tournament in Cooperstown.
In five seasons with Boston, Hill appeared in 70 games and started 30, compiling a 12–8 record and 3.31 ERA with 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 has signed with the Red Sox:
2024, August 16
2021, December 1
2015, August 14
2014, March 26
2014, February 1
2011, December 13
2010, December 16
2010, June 30— Mike Petriello (@mike_petriello) August 16, 2024
In his 19 MLB seasons, Hill has pitched for 13 teams. He has a career record of 90-73 with a 4.01 ERA, averaging 9.1 strikeouts per nine innings.
Red Sox starting pitchers have a combined 3.97 ERA this season, tied for 11th in MLB. But the rotation just lost James Paxton to a partially torn right calf, likely for the rest of the year. 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 with consistency. Cooper Criswell was activated from the COVID-19 injured list on Friday. And Hill could join the rotation soon.
The Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees have also reportedly shown interest in Hill, reports Chris Cotillo of MassLive.
The Red Sox enter Friday’s game in third place in the AL East with a 63-57 record after losing six of their last eight games. Boston is 2.5 games out of the AL’s final wild-card playoff spot.
