Rich

Hill

Hill does not have time to accept outright assignments. There are still 16 teams he hasn’t played for. Hill pitched well in his one outing with Kansas City, so there could be interest in the ageless southpaw on the market.

The Hill experiment is over in Kansas City after just two starts in which he walked eight batters and allowed seven runs — five earned — over nine innings of work. The 45-year-old ageless wonder deserves credit for making it back to the big leagues, but there’s a strong possibility that this is the end of the road after 21 seasons.

The four runs came on two-run homers than both followed walks. As much as we’d love to see Hill succeed at age 45, he’s just a placeholder for a Royals team that needs a rotation upgrade with Kris Bubic ruled out for the season. If he sticks around, he’ll face the Jays on Sunday.

The 45-year-old left-hander issued a pair of walks and recorded one strikeout in his return to the big leagues. The Cubs scratched out a pair of unearned runs against him in the second after errors by Nick Loftin and Salvador Perez extended the inning. He then allowed a two-out RBI double to Pete Crow-Armstrong in the fifth inning. Hill generated eight swings and misses on 90 pitches on the night, posting a CSW of 28 percent. He’ll do battle against the Braves his next time out at home on Monday evening.

Hill will take the ball on Tuesday night at Wrigley Field against the Cubs where his kicked off his big-league career back in 2005. The 45-year-old southpaw is not a recommended streaming option for fantasy purposes, but he’s a remarkable story as he embarks on his 21st campaign in the majors.

It’s happening. Royals rookie outfielder Jac Caglianone was exactly two years old when Hill made his big-league debut back in 2005 with the Cubs. The 45-year-old southpaw will take the ball for Kansas City — his 14th different organization in his 21-year career — on Tuesday night at historic Wrigley Field. There’s too much risk to trust Hill in any sort of fantasy format, but it’s incredible that he’s made it back to the big leagues again.

The 45-year-old Hill will probably start the game, though he could be limited after pitching two innings Saturday. He is stretched out as a starter, having thrown 104 pitches and striking out 10 over five innings eight days ago for Triple-A Omaha. Hill has a 5.36 ERA and a 48/25 K/BB in 42 innings for Omaha.

Hill’s stuff was lacking when he signed with the Red Sox last summer, but it’s better now; his 88.9-mph average on his fastball in Triple-A rates as his high mark since 2019. He’d probably be an adequate fifth starter for some club if he remains healthy.

Hill will make his next minor league appearance at the Triple-A level after striking out 13 batters over eight innings in a pair of starts in the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League. The 45-year-old southpaw is attempting to write another chapter in his tumultuous career by making it back to the big leagues for a potential 21st season. There’s zero fantasy relevance at this juncture of his two-decade odyssey in professional baseball, but it’s a remarkable story.

He’s a long ways from getting back to the majors, but Hill made quite a statement in his first outing with the Royals, retiring all 12 batters he faced. The 45-year-old lefty is attempting to make it back to the big leagues with his 14th different organization spanning 21 seasons.