9:22pm: Hill will earn $2.5MM on a one-year deal, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
8:32pm: The two sides have a deal, pending a physical, Robert Murray of Fansided tweets.
8:22pm: The Rays are progressing toward a deal with free-agent left-hander Rich Hill, according to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com.
Hill will turn 41 in March, and though he was hardly outstanding during the first decade of his career, he has only gotten better with age. Dating back to his stunning renaissance in 2015, Hill – despite possessing 90 mph velocity – has logged a 2.93 ERA/3.57 SIERA with a quality strikeout percentage of 28.6 and and a better-than-average walk rate of 7.9 percent in 503 innings as a member of the Red Sox, Athletics, Dodgers and Twins. The only concern has been Hill’s durability, as various injuries have limited him and he hasn’t hit the 136-inning mark in a season since he revived his career. He threw 38 2/3 frames as a Twin during the truncated 2020 campaign, averaging fewer than five innings out of his eight starts.
Of course, if there’s any team unconcerned about a hurler going deep into games, it’s the Rays. They’re known to rely heavily on their bullpen, evidenced in part by their opener strategy, so Hill could be an ideal fit for the club. The Rays lost 2020 starters Blake Snell (trade) and Charlie Morton (free agency) earlier in the offseason after an AL-winning year, but the small-budget team is trying to put together a low-priced rotation with Hill, fellow offseason additions Chris Archer and Michael Wacha (and potentially Collin McHugh), as well as holdovers Tyler Glasnow and Ryan Yarbrough.
Tampa keeps getting better.
Na they looking to break even from trading Snell but they haven’t gotten better yet.
Rays traded Snell when they could maximize his value & acquired some prospects that were interested in. They got 2 young arms for the future & addressed a organizational weakness in catcher. The recent signings is about acquiring short term depth while their pitching prospects can be allowed to get some more experience in the minors.
losing Snell and Morton will hurt more then people think
I think the opposite. Morton isn’t superhuman eventually as he gets older his stuff is gonna go away at some point. Snell was good yes be he has flaws and yes everyone remembers his World Series start but through the whole regular season he was very average as well as last year. Snell was a typical big name Tampa Bay Ray and will be average everywhere else after…. ala upton, crawford, shields, price, archer and many many many more players who were semi good with rays and barely average elsewhere
Price does not fit that description whatsoever
Price had one good year in Toronto after but otherwise has not been worth his contract, he’s underperformed every year
Morton is money in the playoffs and its hardly given any of the SPs TB added will outperform Snell “average” or otherwise. (still think saying Snell is average is a big product of TB dealing him given people think they can walk on water)
But he wasn’t semi good in Tampa. He was their best pitcher in franchise history. And he wasn’t “barely average” elsewhere. He’s been above average every single season since leaving.
It’s semantics but his inclusion in your group of players doesn’t make sense at all.
No snell being average is based on numbers and stats and if you actually watched him pitch games you’d wanna kick the tv. He’s a complete head case out there and his personality and attitude has made him a bigger figure than he is, and while I agree none of them will with outperform him that’s not how the Rays operate. We can combine pitchers together and use multiple players in a way to replace or even outperform one. The Rays can’t always make or pay for an Ace so they truly use the “team effort” to win games. We don’t need the big names we enjoy winning
Definitely money in the 2020 WS.
I watch every ray game. In person or tv. Morton and Snell were the best two pitchers on the staff. Think matchups with the top teams. Snell was number 1 Morton number 2. Also in the playoffs
No matter what pitcher was matched up against them.the Rays always had a chance.
Who matches up now to the Yankees or other top teams.
They were two games from world champs.
They have digressed not gotten better.
Every team they played in the playoffs improved
The Rays gave away their top two SPs
All the signed pitchers are crap shoots for 5th starters.
They gave away two top of the rotation starting pitchers.
Their strength is now a weakness
Why. An absentee NYC banker who only cares about he bottom line not winning or the fans or the Tampa area.
Rays need new ownership
Local ownership
Then they will get a new stadium and strong attendance
Definite disagree there. I too watched all the games, but must have seen something different than you. Morton looked a fair sight more hittable this year than last, and Snell was his same old erratic self, some days he’s great, others he can’t get out of the 4th inning without 80-90 pitches. Rays’ strength last year was their pen, not the rotation, and that has not changed.
Agreed! Rays strength last year was absolutely the bullpen. Morton definitely took a step back. Snell consistently erratic. Tampa moved on from $28 million in salary with Morton and Snell because it was the right decision for their organization to make. It doesn’t make sense for Tampa to spend that much for declining skills which both have. Still good but declining.
21-5 with a 1.89 ERA in 2018 pitching against two divisional rivals that won a combined 208 games? THAT you consider to be “semi good”?
To say Price was “semi good” in Tampa when he put up a 3.18 ERA over 7 years in the brutal AL East is patently absurd. He didn’t get the biggest contract ever for a pitcher because he was “semi good”.
Bring not worth his contract was not what was said about Price.
Can’t stand Snell he always sounds dumb in interview. Has talent but poor quality of person
No, Snell’s stuff rates high and he will do fine in SD, especially pitching to the mediocre or worse NL West lineups outside of L.A. Terrible trade, can’t understand it.
Agreed @galer18. @truefan has no idea what they are talking about. Also Ownership has nothing to do with getting a new stadium. It’s the horrible deal they signed with the St. Pete city commission decades ago.
R u kidding me snell is average. Wow man have fun kicking yer tv in when the kids r being lit up in the playoffs and no snell . Silliest thing I’ve ever heard
As he gets older? They just signed an oft injured 41 year old.
Wanna tell that to snell in the playoffs. He was money to think otherwise is foolish
Rays don’t need new ownership. Pirates need new ownership. Look at the mets mess. Ya I think the rays ownership is doing a fine job man
Besides the very good 2015 with Detroit and Toronto, Price had two good years with Boston. One of those Boston years was instrumental in Boston winning the World Series. Plus Price had two other decent years with Boston.
I used the term “semi good” as a generalization to group the whole list of players I said into one. I wasn’t gonna say superstars because players like forsythe and kotchman and upton and all kinds of other bench bats or utility players or whoever came here and outperformed immediately didn’t deserve the superstar title so I used a word to group everyone. 2nd idc what kind of contract he got he hasn’t even close to lived up to it, it’s called an overpay he’s not worth the money he was given.
Yes snell is a tick above average but not an ace in any sense of the word. He had a dominant 2018 and has been average since then except for 1 game in the playoffs that just happened to be on the biggest stage so now everyone thinks he’s a star (which the Rays for sure noticed and took advantage of) his stock was never going to be higher and boy did they cash in
Tigers
@Darkside830 I disagree. Snell was great but overrated. One, he’s a hothead. Two, he’s erratic. Three- he barely pitched more than 5 innings. You gotta pitch more if you’re a so-called ace. They can survive without him.
This is a good addition but you have to wonder if Rich Hill will stay on the field long enough… it’s doubtful. If they get him and McHugh at least they stock up.
Snell barely going 5 innings last year was TB’s philosophy.. they only had 7 QS all year… he was pulled early a lot, and that was most of their SP… It’s not like TB can do no wrong.. they just had four straight losing seasons 2014-17 w the same cheap approach… they don’t have the jump in record 2018-20 without snell and Morton, along w Glasnow and meadows… they’ve had a great farm for years, doesn’t always mean they’ll win… I personally think last year will be the closest they ever get to a WS title
They will win the Division!!
That is what the rays do. What a bunch of spoiled fans complaining about snell being a head case and overrated please come to my team!! I would of love to of had snell
Losing Morton is going to hurt more than Snell in my opinion. But you’re def right about losing 2 quality SP’s in the same offseason. Rays always seem to have a trick up their sleeve though and they chose to trade Snell and let Morton walk so I wonder what they have in mind besides Hill.
Tampa Bay is the best run organization in baseball. They don’t have to pay much for pitching because they develop it themselves, find free agent bargains, and win most of their trades (Tyler Glasnow). They will in the Snell trade as well. I am not questioning anything they do. They are also sitting on the #1 prospect in the minors in Wander Franco. Yup, they got their own version of Tatis on the way! Scary! This is the organization that causes the White Sox to lose sleep at night.
best run organization in baseball. the best one period won a world series last year.
You talking about the Dodger team that won the World Series for the first time since they had Brooklyn on their jerseys? The same organization that needed an abbreviated 60-game season to get it done in?
So wait let me get this straight; 59, 63, 65, 81, 88, & 20 don’t count? Just asking for a friend. At least troll properly if you’re going to do it.
If Tampa could spend 240 million per season- they’d go 162-0.
Dodgers win cuz they have an unlimited amount of money
Lots of $$$$$ does not guarantee a championship
@fljay
lots of $$$$$ does provide an advantage.
What happens when you pour Morton salt on a Snell?
I wouldn’t call trading Snell/Morton for Archer/Hill getting better.
dont forget the ghost of Michael Wacha
They got better today in my view.
mcHugh, patiño.
Patiño will be in the minors at least this year
If rays keep pace- he’ll get the call once service time is saved
Meh, they use relievers a lot more than other teams. Hill has the same ceiling as Morton, Morton wasn’t that good last year either.
Neither Snell or Archer are known for going deep into games. Over 2019-20 Snell threw 7IP once and 6 IP 10 times. Archer a bit better when he was healthy.
Could easily end up a wash, actually. Just depends on health.
@Marty McRae completely agree
Really? Snell was good in ’20, won a CY in ’18. Archer hasn’t been good for 5 years. A wash?
Archer has been horrible for several years. Good luck.
Ya but this fits the rays mantra perfectly. They pick guys they know can throw 3-4 zeros out there. The rays know they don’t need all their starters goin deep. They def reinvented on how to utilize pitchers in a game
I wouldn’t call it better but not substationally worse.
They’re still worse than they were when they got eliminated last year
Snell was terribly erratic in the postseason… I don’t blame Cash for pulling him out.
he also got them far enough for it to be a talking point now. and lets not forget Hinch got dumped on for not putting in Cole in game 7 in 2019 and no one doubted Cole’s ability.
????
He was dominant in Game 2 and was going strong in 6
He was dominant in Game 2….. right up until all of a sudden he couldn’t get anyone out, you mean.
Wrong.
@MikeD26, are you saying the rich keep getting Richier?
They keep signing pitchers with durability question marks, and past injury issues? I don’t see it as they’ve advanced, they also haven’t gone backwards? Every one they are signing fits the strategy they have, will it pan out?
I think the rays are going to be just fine. They will lean heavily on the bullpen and have added enough arms (although I think they add one more in trade) to be compete next year and have deep group of prospects they could use anytime to upgrade…they will be ok
I agree. Rays seem to usually start the season well. That’ll be important w 10/11 legit teams in the AL.
There roster is so crazy even w Morton and Snell it’s impossible to put other teams in front of them bc of offseason moves. Consider your team better than Rays ? Prove it on the field
@Rowdy’s Telles- you better hope not or that means 3rd place for your Dunedin Blue Jays. Good luck with that, Enjoy!
The Rays don’t play in Tampa nor are they called the Tampa Rays.
He’s gunna throw 42.1 amazing innings for them this year.
They don’t need more than that.
You’re right.
No chance he achieves that number
Most of the league is questioning 6 man rotations, Tampa is over here like “yeah we got a 7 man rotation, but none of our ‘starters’ pitch deep enough into games to even be considered for the win.”
The Rays don’t play in Tampa nor are the, the Tampa Rays.
they’ll need him to stay healthy
Hill would love to pitch in a 6 man rotation.
Now sign Walker and they will be as good or better than last year.
I think you guys are the same but can be better if you get a good or even decnt year from Patino or Shane Mcclahan.
Wow. Do the Rays really have enough money to add $10 in payroll this offseason?
to be fair they traded away/didnt pick up the option of two of their most expensive players.
I think even the Rays can afford ten bucks.
He’s gunna win the Cy Young award next year.
Yes!!! This is a pitcher that can make the Rays tougher to beat in the playoffs(if they can keep him healthy enough to pitch in them…).
Ummmm who made the WS last year and if your a Yankee fan Mike Brosseau aint finished with yall
I would say this means McHugh isn’t coming to Tampa
Actually from what I’ve heard, they are expected to sign both of them. Can’t say how credible the source is, but they called the Rich Hill signing before it showed up here, so if they say they signed both of them, I’m inclined to believe them.
Marc Topkin?
Nah, some guy on a different site than this one (could be Topkin, sure, but couldn’t really say). Like I said, no idea if he’s actually credible, but when the McHugh signing was announced on here, he was already saying the Rays were working on a deal with Rich Hill as well. Take that as you will.
McHugh is more a RP now anyway
The Rays don’t play in Tampa nor are they called the Tampa Rays.
Here is a good example of why teams shouldn’t give up on players so young and be ok letting them cook in the minors. His first few years in the bigs were brutal. Now, he might be a top 20 pitcher. Give or take. Keeps getting the job done
Hill should be good for around 15 or so starts
15 to 20 ( five innings outings) would be more than enough in tampa.
I think the Rays are the same and have more pitching depth than last year. with these moves. There in house names most havnt heard of will probably pitch well and their financial flexibility could give them options at the deadline. I wouldnt count them out at all.
They’ve got some dudes ready to go. Eleven legit starters/ready-to-go prospects on the 40-man roster (when McKay returns). I agree–depth better, even if top of rotation is not as strong 1-3.
He got a blister on his finger signing the contract
Man, I envy this management team, they are impressive. Caught a few games there, and I have to be honest, that stadium might not be up to the new standards, but I grew up with County Stadium, and this really isn’t that bad. Easy to get to, good visibility, not sure exactly what all goes into stadium design, but I had a great time watching baseball…
Good low budget signing. Hill seems more like a solid bullpen arm at this stage.
Yes! Big fan of this move! I am cognizant of all the potential pitfalls, and even if it is only forty-two innings, it helps! We’ll take it!
So let’s stop berating Snell for not going deep into games. That’s more an organizational philosophy than anything indicative of the player’s performance. How deep can Snell go into games? We don’t know, and probably won’t know until 2022 (introduction of DH in NL).
And leave us not forget the guy (not the most mature guy out there) was living on a long term deal for the past couple of years. Go 5 innings? Get 11M (or whatever). Go 8 innings? Get 11M. Why should he stay in games and (according to the modern view) hurt his chances for a bigger payday at Free Agency time. There’s simply no motivation. And the one time there WAS motivation (World Series) he probably could have thrown a complete game. And thrown it pretty well.
Hill? Why not? They’ve already said they’ll be going to a tandem-like starting system (expanding the “opener” theory), and Hill fits into milieu. Could wind up working out very well.
Neander, Cash & Co. know that depending on 1-inning relievers, who ALL had great years last year, probably isn’t repeatable over 162 games. So they’re adjusting; that they do well.
You’re not wrong on the organizational philosophy point, but it still has to be said that with Snell, half of that was still self-inflicted. He suffered from the same issue Jake Odorizzi and Chris Archer suffered from during their stints with the Rays: pitching for strikeouts means longer ABs, longer ABs lead to longer innings, and longer innings = shorter outings. 2018 was so good for Snell because for once he was actually being fairly efficient with his pitches; that has not been the case in most other seasons.
that doesnt exactly speak well to project guys like Archer (again) and Wacha rebounding though
Didn’t say it did, though the Rays emphasizing just going 2x through the order might help mitigate those issues (since they won’t be expected to go especially deep anyways). We’ll have to see how the Rays end up using them.
Crafty pickup.
Blue Jays RH lineup likes this acquisition.
Kinda ironic that he ended up on a poor team.
Nobody is better throwing 14 innings a year as a starter
I hope that Snell’s WS moment won’t be an overshadowing moment in his career (a la Bill Buckner). I know it wasn’t his fault, but that could still very well be an overshadowing moment in his career if he doesn’t succeed in San Diego. I hope that once his career ends we can look back and think about the success he had in helping the fathers to a WS win rather than what could have been.
again, no one blames Cole for not coming in in game 7 of 2019, so why can anyone blame Snell. That might be overshadowing for Cash if anyone.
The difference with Buckner is that Buckner made the error, the ball went through his legs, and that blew the game. With Snell’s situation he didn’t do anything, Tampa Bay took the ball out of his hands, then the bullpen blew it. Fans think that they lost because Snell wasn’t on the field to win the game for them, as opposed to anything Snell did.
I think to most people that’s an indictment of the Rays, not Snell. Even watching his presser when he was traded to SD, the media was asking him questions like, “what does it feel like to be with an organization that will let you pitch late into games?” and basically the whole tone is that he was robbed of an opportunity to do something great and now he’s going to be given that opportunity with SD. Hopefully he does win with SD because that would be an awesome career arc, but either way I dont think it’s a career defining moment.
He can only throw a fastball about 83 miles per hour, but with that amazing 12-6 curveball and a change up, he can still get major league hitters out. This old guy still has it. Vintage Hill.
I don’t believe Hill throws a changeup. Just a well located fastball in the mid to upper 80s, and that big curve that pairs well with his fastball.
I have seen a lot of Rich Hill as a Dodger fan, and I can’t recall a single non-FB/CB from Hill.
@differentbears- so basically what your saying is fastball is his change-up? lol. Hey as long as he keeps getting guys out as the old coach says. That’s all that matters.
The Rays have signed Hill, Archer, and Wacha for $900k more than they would of paid Snell. Not terrible if at least two pan out
The problem here is that there is a very good chance that none of these guys will pan out, and Blake Snell will continue to pitch well. Archer and Wacha have struggled mightily the past couple years, and Archer is coming off of a missed season due to TOS surgery. Hill is still a good pitcher, but he is 41 and has never been able to stay healthy for a full season. Meanwhile, Snell is at least an above average starter, is 28 years old, and is fully healthy coming into 2021.
Yeah but we also got 4 prospects, including the direct successor to snell in our rotation. So Wacha, hill, archer, AND Patino have to not work out. Rays just banking that the money better spent elsewhere and can’t pass up the prospect package in our market
You literally have no basis to say there’s a good chance they pan out lol. I love when people say stuff just to fit their outlook because it’s the internet and that can just talk crap whenever. It’s not often the Rays sign a pitcher and it doesn’t work out, when pitchers want their careers rejuvenated and to start over they go to Tampa. To say there’s a good chance 3 new pitchers plus McHugh probably won’t work out is just idiotic
It’s not just an outlook, there’s a ton of statistical information that tells us these guys might not pan out. Chris Archer didn’t throw last year and had a 5.19 ERA/5.02FIP in 2019. Wacha last year, 6.62ERA/5.25FIP. Statistically, these guys have not performed well lately.
I actually really like this Hill signing, it seems like a steal at this price point, but he is 41 and has injury concerns so there’s a certain degree of risk involved with it.
It’s just highly ironic that you’re calling others out for “when people say stuff just to fit their outlook” and you’re the one with an unsubstantiated narrative that “It’s not often the Rays sign a pitcher and it doesn’t work out”. You’re literally the one who is saying these pitchers, who should theoretically perform poorly based on their stats, are magically going to pitch well because they signed with Tampa. Look in the mirror man.
Great 4th or 5th starter and a veteran in the club house…wished Cardinals would have explored.
Seems like the perfect landing spot for him.
The Blister lives on to pop another day
Many people retire in FL
Nice pickup. Everyone knows about the IL visits. But the Ray’s always do their homework. Let’s visit mid season.
In theory, nice pick up if he is healthy. He was good in post season too.
Losing Morton & trading Snell was a definite short term step back.
Morton spent time on the DL & his fastball velocity did dip last season. Snell outside of a outstanding 2018 (& of course recent postseason) has been up & down & did spend some time on the DL in 2019.
As I stated above the Rays received a offer that they really liked & those prospects will help the team down the road. By adding McHugh & Hill the Rays have added needed pitching depth to their team & that also will allow the Rays to not rush their pitching prospects early on this upcoming season.
It’s about time someone dealt with Rich Hill!! That situation has gone on for too long!!
Dick Mountain at 2.5 is a deal if he can keep his fingers glued together. think he could be a dominant reliever for a few more years. not sure he’s going to be durable over a full season. passionate dude and fierce competitor.
Why is Arietta getting $6MM and Hill only getting 2.5. Should be the other way around.
On a totally unrelated note… why are the Cubs in free fall while TB is a perennial WS contender with a fraction of the payroll?
Free fall? The Cubs have missed the playoffs once in the past 6 seasons. Let them have one losing season before overreacting
Jake Arietta won a Cy Yozng Award in 2015. Has Rich Hill ever even come close?
Rays need to stock up on pickle juice.
The Rays did not “lose” Blake Snell. They gave him away. One of the best pitchers in baseball and they sent him packing. All that aside, Rich HIll at 2.5 million is a heck of a bargain. He’s going to be more valuable than a lot of guys bringing home 8-10 million dollar deals this winter.
When you said “they gave him away” I about died of laughter. Look at every other “Ace” the rays have traded away. 99% of the time they don’t ever perform again like they did in Tampa. And the Rays got back an absolute stud pitching prospect who some predict will be better than snell and addressed a huge hole at catcher. Typical one sided non thought out comment
Hill was worth 0.1 WAR per start last year. If the going rate is $8mm/WAR, this contract is an insane bargain.
It’ll look like batting practice most days except when Glasnow and Yarbrough pitches
This is the most Rays signing ever, and I mean that in a good way.
The Rays could sign a bag of broken bats, and half the commenters on this site would be semi-erect.
Couple of thoughts from a die hard Rays fan.
Thought one from losing Charlie Morton – we WILL miss his clubhouse presence. He was perfect for a shortened season because the Rays could protect his aging arm for the playoffs. Now at a 162 game season it will be difficult for the Braves to keep him fresh without longer periods of time of rest without him getting hurt. I do expect at least one but probably multiple stints on the DL this year from him. I will miss him for sure as I thought he channeled Eddie Harris better than anyone in MLB…Eddie Harris: “You trying to say Jesus Christ can’t hit a curveball?”
As for Blake Snell, this guy does have excellent stuff but can’t get out of the 3rd or 4th inning without 80-85 pitches. Again, in a shortened season this is not really an issue…but I think the Rays will struggle this year relying on a bullpen to consistently hold leads with a full 162 game schedule. And Snell was NOT going solve this problem of mounting pitch counts here or it would have been solved already. So trading him away at his pinnacle value when there will be no fans or limited fans in the seats was an easy decision to make. And to grab young arms and a catcher that this franchise can’t seem to develop made this move a no brainer.
I have zero hope on Wacha, Archer and Hill being anything more than innings munchers which means to me a whole lot of 4.50 – 5.00 ERAs coming our way. I see us competing this year but playoffs to me is a long shot and will be a transition year for some of our young arms to get stronger and experienced.
We struggled to score runs last year outside of Aroz in the playoffs and I believe it will be more of the same this year. Austin Meadows needs to have a big year for us to be in the playoff discussions. The Bully will be good again but over 162 is different than a 60 game sprint. And with their projected starting staff…I’m not optimistic.
At this point I’m hoping for a 90 win season…but realistically 80-85 is where I’m at.
Looking forward to warm weather and baseball again.
Peace everyone.
As a Jays fan, what I can say is to never EVER count out the Rays. They always manage to do better than what anyone expects.