A Massachusetts native is “trending toward” re-signing with his hometown team after finishing the 2023 season in San Diego and sitting out all of 2024.
Rich Hill, 44, who would become MLB‘s oldest active player, auditioned for teams last Friday in Massachusetts. Now, according to Rob Bradford of WEEI, he might not have to travel far to his next job in baseball.
The Boston Red Sox are close to formalizing a minor league contract with Hill, according to Bradford.
Bradford asked Hill Friday if he thought he could still make a quality start at the major league level in 2024.
“Six innings, three runs? Yeah,” Hill told Bradford. “I feel 100 percent convicted by that.”
Hill will compete in his 20th MLB season if he pitches an inning this year. After debuting in 2005, Hill has played for 13 teams, most recently the San Diego Padres.
But the Red Sox have been the most frequent employer in the long career of the Milton, Mass. native. He has signed free agent contracts with Boston in 2010 (twice), 2011, 2014 (twice), 2015, and again prior to the 2022 season.
Hill has a career 4.01 ERA in 1,405.1 innings pitched. He most recently pitched for the San Diego Padres and Pittsburgh Pirates in 2023, sporting a combined 5.41 ERA across 32 appearances (27 starts).
In July, it was reported that both the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers — two of Hill’s former employers — had interest in signing the pitcher.
More recently, Hill threw a showcase for teams in Waltham, Mass. The Minnesota Twins — another former team of Hill’s — expressed interest.
However, staying close to home was likely Hill’s preference all along. In spring, he was spotted coaching his son’s Little League team in Milton — the reason Hill wanted to hold out in free agency for a midseason contract.
“Yeah, a lot. Pretty much everything,” said Hill, when MLB.com asked him how much getting to coach played into his decision to stay home for now. “I’ve only seen Brice play four games over the last three years or whatever. Getting the opportunity, knowing that it was his last year of Little League, that’s something that you can’t get back.”
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The Red Sox perhaps figured they had acquired a veteran left-hander to help their all-right-handed rotation down the stretch when they traded for James Paxton from the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Paxton, however, was injured in only his third start after the trade. The partial tear of his right calf is likely to end his season.
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While a reunion with Boston was perhaps inevitable, the Red Sox have a practical need for Hill’s services, too. Now he’ll have a chance to prove that his finesse repertoire can still hold its own in a league of young flamethrowers.