At 45-years-old, Rich Hill still has some gas left in his tank and he’s nearing another MLB return. The left-handed pitcher has a June 15 opt-out in his contract with the Kansas City Royals and if the AL Central club doesn’t call him up to the big leagues, then there’s a chance that Hill could reunite with his first MLB team.
Hill was selected by the Cubs in the 2002 MLB Draft in the fourth round with the 112th overall pick out of Michigan. The lefty made his big-league debut on June 15, 2005, and has now pitched for 13 teams in his 20-year career. Hill is eyeing a 21st season in MLB and according to FanSided’s Robert Murray Hill may seek other opportunities if the Royals don’t add him to their roster later this week.
Via FanSided.
Rich Hill has an opt-out on June 15 in his contract with the Kansas City Royals, a source tells FanSided. In 20 career seasons, Hill has thrown 1409 innings and recorded a 4.01 ERA with a 24% strikeout rate. And with the opt-out looming, it’s possible that Dick Mountain will soon be pitching in the majors again, perhaps with the Royals or another franchise.
Hill signed with the Royals back in May and after making two starts in the Arizona Complex league he was moved to Triple-A, where Hill has posted a 2.45 ERA in 11 innings. His most recent start was against the Iowa Cubs this past Saturday, when the veteran arm tossed six innings and only gave up one unearned run, surrendering one lone hit, two walks, while striking out six.
The Cubs already have one success story of adding a veteran pitcher to the staff after getting close to an opt-out in his contract. Left-handed reliever Drew Pomeranz was at Triple-A in the Seattle Mariners system and on April 21, he was traded to the Cubs for cash considerations. Pomeranz has been unbelievable with the Cubs, throwing 15.1 scoreless innings in 17 appearances.
Although Hill wouldn’t represent the big move that Cubs fans are hoping for this summer his addition could help out the team’s pitching depth. Shōta Imanaga is still a week away from returning at the earliest and there hasn’t been much of an update on Javier Assad since his setback at the end of April. The Cubs have been so desperate to add starting pitching that they’ve signed Kenta Maeda and Jake Woodford within the past month just to have arms enough arms to cover innings at Triple-A.
Plus, Hill has shown the capacity to still produce positive results despite his age. In 2023, Hill recorded a 4.23 ERA in his first 13 starts of the year with the Pittsburgh Pirates, striking out 67 batters in 72.1 innings. In 2022, he made 26 starts with the Boston Red Sox and posted a 4.27 ERA in 124.1 innings of work.
He’s also performed well in the postseason, recording a 3.06 ERA in 53 career playoff innings.
In what could be a full-circe moment for Hill, it would be a nice storybook ending to his MLB career if the 45-year-old pitcher made his way back to the Cubs.
