Twenty years after his major-league debut, Rich Hill is back in pro ball.
The Kansas City Royals announced on Tuesday that they have signed the 45-year-old lefty to a minor-league deal. Hill will report to the Royals’ spring training complex in Arizona but could move quickly to join the big-league club. Hill told the Baseball Isn’t Boring podcast earlier this month that he’d been throwing bullpens — including a recent 110-pitch session — and could be MLB-ready within three weeks.
Advertisement
“The ball’s coming out of my hand great,” Hill said. “Probably better than it has in the last couple of years.”
If Hill reaches the majors for his 21st season, he will supplant 42-year-old Justin Verlander as the oldest player currently in the major leagues.
Hill told Baseball Isn’t Boring that he was “100 percent” preparing to return as a starting pitcher and had been sending both video and Trackman data to interested teams. He said he wanted to sign before the trade deadline so that, if things didn’t work out with one team, he would have a chance to be traded to another. The Royals have one of the best rotations in baseball, but recently pulled depth starter Kyle Wright off a rehab assignment.
“Physically, everything is there,” Hill said, “and I feel extremely strong and healthy. Now, it will just be somebody taking the opportunity to get reps under my belt and get back into more game-type situations.”
Hill was first drafted out of high school in 1999 but didn’t sign until the Chicago Cubs made him a fourth-round pick in 2002. He made his big-league debut with the Cubs in 2005 and has pitched in the majors every year since. His best seasons came after a late-career renaissance.
Having become something of a journeyman in his mid-30s, Hill pitched briefly in independent ball in 2015 before signing with the Boston Red Sox and thriving in four late-season starts. He was 35, and his career suddenly had fresh life. The next season, Hill made 20 starts with the Oakland A’s and Los Angeles Dodgers, posting a 2.12 ERA. In his late 30s, he became a rotation mainstay of the Dodgers for three and a half seasons.
Since turning 40 in 2020, Hill has pitched 471 2/3 innings with a 4.39 ERA for the Minnesota Twins, Tampa Bay Rays, Pittsburgh Pirates, San Diego Padres and twice for the Red Sox. He made four late-season relief appearances for the Red Sox in 2024 but had a 4.91 ERA before being released on Sept. 9. He has not pitched in the major leagues since. If he reaches the big leagues with the Royals, he will tie Edwin Jackson for the MLB record for most teams with 14.
Advertisement
Hill has a 1.80 ERA in three career World Series starts, but he’s never won a championship and hasn’t pitched in the postseason since 2019.
“I love the competition of pitching,” Hill told Baseball Isn’t Boring. “I still have the itch to do it, and the ability is still there, and the work ethic is still there.”
As of Tuesday, the opportunity is there, too.
(Photo of Hill with Boston in 2024: Rick Osentoski / USA Today)
