Red Sox sign veteran left-hander Rich Hill to minor-league deal

Pitcher Rich Hill is on his way back to the Boston Red Sox. The veteran left-hander officially signed a minor-league deal with the team on Friday, according to WEEI’s Rob Bradford.

This is the eighth time that Hill, 44, has signed with the Red Sox. If he pitches for Boston this season, it would be his fourth stint with the team.

Hill is expected to join Triple-A Worcester on Sunday or Monday, after his son finishes a baseball tournament in Cooperstown.

In five seasons with Boston, Hill appeared in 70 games and started 30, compiling a 12–8 record and 3.31 ERA with 181 strikeouts in 185 innings. Last year, Hill pitched for the Pittsburgh Pirates and San Diego Padres, making 32 appearances (27 starts) with a 5.46 ERA and 129 strikeouts in 146 1/3 innings.

In his 19 MLB seasons, Hill has pitched for 13 teams. He has a career record of 90–73 with a 4.01 ERA, averaging 9.1 strikeouts per nine innings.

Red Sox starting pitchers have a collective 3.97 ERA this season, tied for 11th in MLB. But the rotation just lost James Paxton to a partially torn right calf, likely for the rest of the year. Garrett Whitlock hasn’t pitched since April, and Lucas Giolito underwent season-ending elbow surgery.

Nick Pivetta, Tanner Houck, Kutter Crawford and Brayan Bello have struggled with consistency. Cooper Criswell was activated Friday from the COVID-19 injured list. And Hill could join the rotation soon.

The Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees also reportedly showed interest in Hill, MassLive’s Chris Cotillo reported.

Entering Friday’s game, the Red Sox are in third in the AL East with a 63–57 record, having lost six of their past eight games. Boston is 2.5 games out of the AL’s final wild-card playoff spot.

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