Red Sox Primed For Reunion With Rich Hill?

Who says you can’t go home again? And again. And again. And again. Certainly not former Boston Red Sox pitcher Rich Hill.

The 45-year-old Boston native became a free agent on Friday after being designated for assignment by the Kansas City Royals.

In May, Hill signed a minor-league discount with the Royals, who promoted him to the big leagues in June after nine appearances with Triple-A Omaha. He made two starts for Kansas City, going 0-2 with a 5.00 ERA and eight walks in nine innings of work.

“It was a lackluster pair of outings for the veteran, and he’s served as more of an innings-eating depth starter as he’s entered his mid-40s with a 5.38 ERA over 159 innings of work since the start of the 2023 campaign,” MLB Trade Rumors noted.

But with the MLB trade deadline in the rearview mirror, a contending club which loses a starting pitcher down the stretch could be giving Hill a call. That includes the Red Sox, with whom Hill has already had four stints.

He played for Boston from 2010-12, 2015, 2022 and 2024. Last year with the Red Sox, Hill made four appearances and went 0-1 with a 4.91 ERA.

Hill is a veteran with 21 big-league seasons on his resume. According to ESPN, the southpaw is tied with Edwin Jackson for the most franchises played in MLB history at 14.

The lefty made his MLB debut in 2005 with the Cubs. He went on to play for the Red Sox, Royals, Los Angeles Dodgers, Cleveland Guardians, Pittsburgh Pirates, Tampa Bay Rays, Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees, Oakland A’s, New York Mets, San Diego Padres, Minnesota Twins and Los Angeles Angels.

In his two-plus decade career, Hill has appeared in 388 games, making 250 starts. He’s 90-76 with a 4.02 ERA.