The Massachusetts native is “on track” to re-sign with his hometown team after finishing the 2023 season with San Diego and sitting out the entire 2024 season.
Rich Hill, 44, will be the oldest active player in MLB, and he auditioned for teams in Massachusetts last Friday, and according to WEEI's Rob Bradford, he may not have to go far to land his next job in baseball.
Bradford said the Boston Red Sox are on the verge of formalizing a minor league contract with Hill.
Bradford asked Hill on Friday whether he thought he could make a quality start in the major leagues in 2024.
“Three runs in six innings? Yeah,” Hill told Bradford. “I'm 100% sure about that now.”
Hill will be in his 20th MLB season if he pitches one inning this year and has played for 13 teams since his debut in 2005, most recently with the San Diego Padres.
But the Red Sox have been the team that has employed the Milton, Massachusetts native most frequently during his lengthy career, as he signed free agent deals with Boston in 2010 (twice), 2011, 2014 (twice), 2015 and again before the 2022 season.
Hill owns a 4.01 ERA in 1,405.1 career innings pitched and most recently pitched for the San Diego Padres and Pittsburgh Pirates in 2023, posting a combined 5.41 ERA in 32 games (27 starts).
In July, it was reported that both Hill's former teams, the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers, were interested in signing the pitcher.
The team recently held a showcase for teams in Waltham, Mass. Hill's former team, the Minnesota Twins, also showed interest.
But staying local was apparently Hill's preference all along — he was spotted in Milton in the spring coaching his son's Little League team — which is why he waited until mid-season to sign as a free agent.
“Yeah, a lot. Almost everything,” Hill said when asked by MLB.com how much the coaching appointment influenced his decision to stay home for now. “I've only seen Bryce play about four games in the last three years. To have the opportunity I got and knowing it was my last year of Little League, that's something I'll never get back.”
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 4: Bryce Harper (No. 3) of the Philadelphia Phillies scores a run beating Rich Hill (No. 41) of the San Diego Padres during the first inning of a baseball game at Petco Park on September 4, 2023 in San Diego, California. SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 4: Bryce Harper (No. 3) of the Philadelphia Phillies scores a run beating Rich Hill (No. 41) of the San Diego Padres during the first inning of a baseball game at Petco Park on September 4, 2023 in San Diego, California. Hill is working towards a reunion with the Boston Red Sox. Details: Dennis Polloi/Getty Images
When the Red Sox acquired James Paxton in a trade from the Los Angeles Dodgers, they may have thought they were acquiring a veteran left-handed pitcher to help the late innings of an all-right-hander rotation.
But Paxton was injured in just his third start since the trade, suffering a partial tear of his right calf muscle that is likely over for the season.
In other news: Veteran pitcher's calf injury disrupts AL wild card race
A reunion with Boston was probably inevitable, but the Red Sox need Hill, too, and now he'll have a chance to prove his slick pitching style still holds up in a league crowded with young, red-hot pitchers.
