Former Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Rich Hill will surprisingly be playing baseball in 2025 at 45 years old. On Tuesday, the left-handed pitcher was signed to a minor league deal by the Kansas City Royals.
Since he was inked to a minor league pact, Hill will head to the Omaha Storm Chasers (Royals’ Triple-A affiliate). However, Hill will first go to Surprise, Arizona, to ramp up, which is Kansas City’s spring training/Complex League facility.
We have signed LHP Rich Hill to a minor league contract. He will report to Surprise and is expected to join Omaha (AAA) soon.
— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) May 13, 2025
The last thing we heard from Hill about possibly playing this season was a couple of weeks ago when he spoke to Chris Cotillo of MassLive. According to Cotillo, Hill said he’s still working out and feels great. He also mentioned that a couple of teams were expressing serious interest.
Big thanks to Rich Hill for coming in and doing a Q&A with my comm class at BC tonight ... and for those wondering: he's working out, still throwing, feels great and wants to sign with a team soon. Couple teams expressing serious interest, including one in AL East (not Red Sox).
— Chris Cotillo (@ChrisCotillo) April 23, 2025
Hill most recently pitched with the Red Sox last season for a short period, marking his fourth stint with the club. The left-handed pitcher joined Boston in August on a minor league deal and was promoted to the majors shortly after.
Hill didn’t pitch much for the Red Sox, appearing in four games with a 4.91 ERA. He allowed two earned runs (one home run) and three walks, but racked up five strikeouts in 3.2 innings pitched.
In 74 career appearances with the Red Sox, Hill had a 12-9 record and 3.34 ERA, which isn’t bad for a pitcher who made his major league debut in 2005.
The southpaw has found a way to stick around in the majors, despite not putting up big numbers over the last few years. Before joining the Red Sox in 2024, Hill spent the 2023 campaign with the Pittsburgh Pirates and San Diego Padres.
The lefty pitched well with the Pirates, posting a 7-10 record and 4.76 ERA in 22 starts. But things went downhill after Pittsburgh traded the veteran to San Diego. Hill struggled on the mound, producing a 1-4 record and 8.23 ERA across 10 appearances (five starts).
At his age, Hill won’t blow hitters away with his stuff. However, he’ll look to show the Royals’ front office that he can still be a capable major league pitcher and hopefully get called up to the big leagues one more time.