The Kansas City Royals have signed left-handed starter Rich Hill to a minor league contract, the team announced on Tuesday.
Hill, 45, has played 20 seasons in Major League Baseball for 13 different teams. Should he appear in an MLB game for Kansas City, it would be the 14th team he played for in his career, tying a record set by right-hander Edwin Jackson, who played for 14 teams in 17 MLB seasons.
In November, Hill pitched for Team USA at the 2024 WBSC Premier12, helping the team to a third-place finish, making three starts and allowing five hits over 10 1/3 innings, allowing just one unearned run while notching 14 strikeouts against just two walks. He held Samurai Japan scoreless for four innings at the Tokyo Dome in the Super Round on Nov. 21, 2024, allowing one hit and striking out five.
A native of Milton, Mass., Hill appeared in four games for the Boston Red Sox in 2024, throwing 3 2/3 innings in relief. Over 20 seasons, Hill has compiled 17.1 bWAR, an ERA of 4.01, and a WHIP of 1.259 in 1,409 innings, with a record of 90-74.
In 2023, Hill made 27 starts with the Pittsburgh Pirates and San Diego Padres, throwing 146 1/3 innings with a 5.41 ERA, 129 strikeouts and 58 walks.
The Royals currently have five pitchers on the Injured List, with righties Hunter Harvey and Kyle Wright each on the 15-Day IL and expected to return in May. Right-hander Alec Marsh is on the 60-Day IL and expected to return in June, while James McArthur, who had screws put into his elbow stabilize a fracture in the offseason, is expected to return in the second half of the season.
Photo: Rich Hill brings chairs up from the clubhouse to sit on with his teammates in the dugout before the start of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Thursday, June 1, 2017, in St. Louis.
(AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
