Left-hander Rich Hill and the Pittsburgh Pirates are in agreement on a one-year, $8 million contract, sources familiar with the deal told ESPN, uniting Hill with his 12th big league team and setting him up to be the oldest player in Major League Baseball this season.
Hill, who turns 43 in March, carved out a role in recent years as a five-inning specialist. With the Boston Red Sox last season, he started 26 games and threw 124â…“ innings, posting a 4.27 ERA and putting up typically strong strikeout-to-walk numbers.
The deal, which is pending a physical, would add Hill to a roster filled with young pitchers, including right-handers Mitch Keller, Roansy Contreras, Luis Ortiz and Johan Oviedo. Right-handed prospects Quinn Priester and Mike Burrows also finished last season at AAA.
Hill was the second-oldest player in baseball last year, two months younger than St. Louis slugger Albert Pujols, who retired. Behind Hill were Nelson Cruz and Oliver Perez, both of whom remain unsigned, and 41-year-old Adam Wainwright, who signed a one-year, $17.5 million deal to remain with the St. Louis Cardinals.
After starting his career in 2005 with the Chicago Cubs, Hill spent time with the Baltimore Orioles, Red Sox, Cleveland Indians, Los Angeles Angels and New York Yankees before pitching for the independent Long Island Ducks in 2015. He resurfaced with Boston and went to Oakland in 2016, when he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers, where he spent four seasons. He signed with Minnesota in 2020, Tampa Bay in 2021 (when he was traded to the New York Mets) and did a third stint with Boston this year.
Over his 18-year career, Hill is 82-59 with a 3.85 ERA. In 1,259 innings, he has struck out 1,294 batters, walked 482 and allowed 151 home runs.
