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Derek Hill

Rangers Sign Derek Hill, Andrew Knapp, Elier Hernandez To Minors Contracts

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The Rangers announced seven minor league signings today, with the players all receiving invitations to the club’s big league Spring Training camp.  The signings of Diego Castillo and Jesus Tinoco were previously reported, and Texas’ group included three more players with MLB experience — outfielder Derek Hill, catcher Andrew Knapp, and outfielder Elier Hernandez.

Hill has seen some action in each of the last four Major League seasons, beginning with his big league debut as a member of the Tigers in 2020.  Hill appeared in 95 games with Detroit from 2020-22 before signing a minors deal with the Nationals last winter that resulted in 13 more MLB appearances this past season.  Washington designated Hill for assignment and outrighted him off the 40-man roster in July, and Hill chose to become a minor league free agency after the regular season was over.

Just a few days shy of his 28th birthday, Hill hasn’t hit much over his limited big league career, with a .229/.279/.314 slash line over 304 plate appearances.  Selected 23rd overall by the Tigers in the 2014 draft, Hill’s bat took a while to get going even in the minors, though he has hit .288/.348/.472 with 22 homers and 28 steals (in 35 tries) over 756 career PA at the Triple-A level.

These numbers hint at some “quad-A” uncertainty for Hill, yet his speed, Triple-A production, and his ability to at least passably play all three outfield positions should keep giving him some opportunities on minor league contracts.  With Robbie Grossman and Travis Jankowski both free agents, Hill and Hernandez will give the Rangers some outfield depth at the Triple-A level, especially since top prospect Wyatt Langford is expected to make his MLB debut in 2024 and Evan Carter has already broken out as an outfield regular heading into next season.

It’s a familiar role for Hernandez, who is returning for his fourth straight season in the Texas organization.  Originally an international signing for the Royals way back in 2011, the 29-year-old Hernandez has become a fixture at Triple-A Round Rock, posting particularly good numbers for the Rangers’ top affiliate in each of the last two seasons.  That production earned Hernandez his first big league look in 2022, when he had a .442 OPS over 35 PA in 14 games with Texas.

The 32-year-old Knapp has the most Major League experience of the trio, as the veteran backstop suited up for 325 appearances from 2017-22.  Most (309) of that work came as a part-time catcher and backup with the Phillies, but Knapp has since bounced around the league since he first elected free agency following the 2021 season.  Knapp saw MLB action with three teams (the Pirates, Mariners, and Giants) in 2022, and he has also been a member of the Reds, Tigers, and Astros organization without the benefit of any big league call-ups.  Knapp spent all of 2023 at Triple-A, hitting a combined .233/.328/.377 over 358 for Detroit and Houston’s top affiliates.

With Mitch Garver now joining the Mariners and already leaning more towards a DH-only role anyway, the Rangers were in need of some additional depth behind the plate.  Jonah Heim will start and Knapp could give Sam Huff some competition for the backup job in Spring Training.  Since there aren’t any other catchers in the organization with any big league experience, Texas will likely look to add one or two more backstops on minor league deals to further add to their list of catching options heading into camp.

29 Players Elect Free Agency

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October brings postseason play for a handful of teams and their fanbases. Just over two-thirds of the league is now in offseason mode after being eliminated, however. As the season comes to a close, a number of veterans will hit minor league free agency.

These players are separate from six-year MLB free agents, who’ll reach the open market five days after the conclusion of the World Series. Eligible minor leaguers can begin electing free agency as soon as the regular season wraps up. These players were all outrighted off a team’s 40-man roster during the year and have the requisite service time and/or multiple career outrights necessary to reach free agency since they weren’t added back to teams’ rosters.

Electing free agency is the anticipated outcome for these players. There’ll surely be more to test the market in the coming weeks. We’ll offer periodic updates at MLBTR. The first group, courtesy of the transaction tracker at MiLB.com:

Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Pitchers

Nationals Outright Derek Hill To Triple-A

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TODAY: The Nationals announced that Hill cleared waivers, and decided to accept an outright assignment to Triple-A Rochester.

JULY 5: The Nationals announced Wednesday that they’ve designated outfielder Derek Hill for assignment. His spot on the roster will go to fellow outfielder Alex Call, who’s been recalled from Triple-A Rochester.

Hill, 27, appeared in 13 games with the Nats and tallied 50 plate appearances. He slashed just .170/.220/.191 in that time, however, striking out in 22% of his plate appearances against a 6% walk rate. That marked the fourth straight season with at least some big league work for the former Tigers first-rounder (No. 23, 2014). He carries a tepid .229/.279/.314 batting line in 304 MLB plate appearances.

So far in 2023, Hill’s work in Triple-A has been outstanding. He’s batted .324/.381/.533 in 204 plate appearances, boosting his career rates at the top minor league level to .283/.344/.470 in an even 600 trips to the plate.

Hill is a plus runner with good defensive tools but mixed defensive ratings in limited MLB action in the outfield. He’s a natural center fielder and has experience at all three slots in the outfield.

Hill is out of minor league options, meaning any team that wants to place a waiver claim or acquire him in a small trade would need to commit to carrying him on its own 40-man roster (or else immediately attempt to pass him through waivers themselves). The Nats will have a week to pass him through waivers, trade him or release him.

Nationals Select Derek Hill, Place Victor Robles On Injured List

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The Nationals have selected the contract of outfielder Derek Hill from Triple-A Rochester, per a team announcement. In a corresponding 26-man roster move, center fielder Victor Robles was placed on the 10-day IL due to lower back spasms. Washington already had a vacancy on the 40-man roster, so a corresponding move was not necessary in that regard. MASNsports.com’s Bobby Blanco noted prior to the announcement that Hill was in the Nationals’ clubhouse.

Hill 27, was the No. 23 overall pick by the Tigers back in the 2014 draft but has yet to deliver on that draft status and several years ranking among Detroit’s top farmhands. He spent parts of three big league seasons with the Tigers, appearing in 95 games and taking 254 plate appearances from 2020-22. The resulting .240/.291/.339 slash line was underwhelming and ultimately led to a DFA for Hill just prior to last summer’s trade deadline. The Mariners claimed him a few days later but outrighted him off the 40-man roster in October. Hill elected minor league free agency and caught on with the Nats.

It’s been a brilliant start to the season for Hill up in Rochester, where he’s turned in a .324/.381/.533 batting line with eight homers, 10 doubles, a pair of triples and 10 steals (in 11 tries). His 7.8% walk rate is a bit below average, but his 21.6% strikeout rate is also slightly lower than that of an average big league hitter. It’s Hill’s third season with time spent at the Triple-A level, and he now carries a .283/.344/.470 batting line at that level in an even 600 plate appearances. Hill is out of minor league options, so the Nats can’t send him back down unless they first designate him for assignment and pass him through outright waivers.

Robles, 26, will head to the injured list in the midst of his best showing since a 21-game cup of coffee with the Nats back in 2018. The longtime top prospect is hitting .299/.385/.364 in 126 plate appearances this season, with the uptick in production largely attributable to a career-low 14.3% strikeout rate. Robles’ 8.7% walk rate is also the second-highest mark he’s posted since his 2017 MLB debut and a far sight better than the career 5.9% mark he carried into the current season.

The Nationals haven’t yet provided a timetable for Robles’ return, but Hill figures to see plenty of time in center field while Robles is out. Hill is in the lineup hitting eighth and playing center this afternoon. Lane Thomas and Alex Call are the only other outfielders to log any innings in center this season, but Call is currently in Triple-A Rochester and Thomas has just 11 innings there.

Nationals Sign Derek Hill To Minor League Deal

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The Nationals announced that they have signed outfielder Derek Hill and right-hander Hobie Harris to minor league deals with invites to Spring Training. Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post reported on the Hill deal before the official announcement.

Hill, 27 next month, is a former first round draft pick, having been selected by the Tigers 23rd overall in 2014. At that time, he was considered to be an exciting talent due to his speed and defense, with his ultimate ceiling to be determined by the development of his bat.

Unfortunately, the offensive part of his game never really caught up with the other parts. He cracked the majors in 2020 and got into 95 games over the past three seasons. His batting line in that time is .240/.291/.339, production that’s 24% below league average by measure of wRC+. He’s struck out in 29.9% of his plate appearances, well above the league average rate, with this year’s being 22.4%.

His time in the minors this year wasn’t great either, as he hit .220/.294/.386 for a wRC+ of 73. That included time in the Tigers’ system as well as that of the Mariners, who claimed him off waivers in August. Seattle designated him for assignment and outrighted him in October.

For the Nationals, they are deep in the rebuilding process and not expected to be competitive in 2023, meaning they are one of the teams best-suited to take a shot on a former prospect like Hill. His baserunning and glovework give him a decent floor, meaning even a slight improvement at the plate could turn him into a decent piece for the club. He’s out of options and can’t be sent back down if he cracks the roster, but he has less than two years of service time and can be retained cheaply for years to come if he has a breakout. The Nats have Victor Robles penciled into center field for now, though he’s struggled at the plate for years and is in line for a $2.5MM salary via arbitration, per the projections of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz.

As for Harris, 30 in June, he was a 31st round draft pick of the Yankees in 2015. He stayed in their system until December of 2019, when the Blue Jays grabbed him in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft. He spent the next couple of years in the Jays’ system before reaching minor league free agency and signing a minor league deal with the Brewers for 2022.

In each of the two past two seasons, he’s been in Triple-A, getting decent amounts of strikeouts and grounders but struggling with the free passes. In 2021, he registered a 3.92 ERA over 43 2/3 innings with a 27.9% strikeout rate, 11.5% walk rate and 48.1% ground ball rate. This year, his peripherals trended in the wrong direction yet his ERA dropped, likely due to a .203 batting average on balls in play. In 53 frames, he had a 2.04 ERA while striking out 27.1% of batters faced, walking 13.5% of them and getting grounders on 40.5% of balls in play. As mentioned with Hill, the Nats are likely going to be cycling through various players on their roster throughout 2023, looking for hidden gems as part of their rebuild. That means Harris has a chance to make his MLB debut if he keeps putting up decent Triple-A results next year.

Mariners Outright Derek Hill

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Outfielder Derek Hill has gone unclaimed on waivers after being designated for assignment by the Mariners earlier in the week, the team announced. He has been outrighted to Triple-A Tacoma, but he’ll qualify for minor league free agency at the start of the offseason as a player who has spent more than seven years in the minors.

Hill, 27 in December, was a first-round pick of the Tigers in 2014. An excellent runner and gifted center fielder, he played his way up the minor league ladder but never found the offensive consistency Detroit had hoped. He’s reached double digits in home runs just once in his minor league career, and he’s increasingly struggled to make contact against higher-level pitching. Through parts of eight minor league seasons, he owns a .246/.315/.362 line with an elevated 25.7% strikeout rate.

Despite the offensive inconsistency, Hill played his way to the majors by 2020 on the strength of his glove and baserunning. He spent parts of three seasons in Detroit, compiling a .240/.291/.339 line over 254 plate appearances in intermittent playing time. He swiped nine bases and played over 600 innings in center field over that stretch. The Tigers designated him for assignment in early August, and Seattle nabbed him off waivers.

Hill has spent the past few months in the Mariners organization, but he didn’t make an appearance in Seattle. He instead spent the stretch run on optional assignment to Triple-A Tacoma, putting up a .236/.320/.462 showing with five homers in 34 games. Once he officially hits free agency, he figures to entertain some minor league offers with invitations to big league Spring Training.

Mariners Claim Luke Weaver, Designate Derek Hill

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The Mariners announced that they have claimed right-hander Luke Weaver off waivers from the Royals. Outfielder Derek Hill was designated for assignment in a corresponding move.

Weaver, 29, was a highly-touted prospect as he made his way through the system of the Cardinals, who drafted him in 2014. He showed some potential in his first tastes of the big leagues and eventually became a key piece of the trade that sent Paul Goldschmidt from Arizona to St. Louis. Weaver made 12 good starts in the desert in 2019 but has since been held back by injuries and underperformance.

He was able to make 12 starts in the shortened 2020 season but put up an ERA of 6.58 that year. He was better in 2021 but a shoulder injury limited him to just 13 starts over that full season. This year, the D-Backs tried moving him to the bullpen, which didn’t really work. He registered a 7.71 ERA before getting flipped to the Royals at the deadline. He was slightly better in KC, but still had a 5.59 ERA after the deal.

There wasn’t any public indication the Royals had placed Weaver on waivers, though it appears they had been quietly performing some roster maintenance. Many teams are facing roster crunches soon, as there’s no injured list between the World Series and Spring Training. Since most teams have at least a few players on the 60-day IL, those players will soon have to retake roster spots or else be cut. Weaver is arbitration-eligible and has been projected for a salary of $3MM by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz. Instead, it seems the Royals have cut him loose and will use his roster spot for other players.

For the Mariners, they are evidently more enamored of Weaver than the Royals. It’s not outlandish to think that Weaver could find better results than what he saw in 2022. His .429 batting average on balls in play and 58.6% strand rate are both much worse than league averages. As such, all advanced metrics thought him deserving of much better than his 6.56 combined ERA between the D-Backs and Royals. Weaver’s 3.64 SIERA, 2.69 FIP and 3.82 xFIP all suggest he was better than he might have seemed, though xERA is a bit more skeptical with a 5.45.

In order to take a chance on Weaver, the M’s are risking losing Hill. The 26-year-old was just claimed off waivers from the Tigers in August, having served as a depth piece for both clubs. However, he is now out of options and unable to be easily sent down to the farm going forward. He got into 31 MLB games this year, all with Detroit, and hit .229/.270/.289 for a wRC+ of 60. In 68 minor league games, he slashed .220/.294/.386, 73 wRC+. Despite that tepid offensive output, Hill might find interest from other clubs given his speed and defensive skills. If he clears waivers, he would be eligible to elect free agency based on having spent parts of seven seasons in the minors.

Mariners Claim Derek Hill, Designate Kevin Padlo

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The Mariners have claimed outfielder Derek Hill off waivers from the Tigers, per announcements from both teams. He’d been designated for assignment earlier in the week. The Mariners announced they’ve designated infielder Kevin Padlo for assignment in a corresponding move.

Hill changes organizations for the first time in his pro career. The California native was a first-round pick by the Tigers back in 2014, and he’s spent the past eight years climbing the minor league ladder. He reached the majors for a cup of coffee in 2020, and he’s reappeared at the MLB level in each of the following two seasons. The righty-hitting outfielder hasn’t produced much at the plate thus far, compiling a .240/.291/.339 line with four home runs and an elevated 29.9% strikeout rate across 254 big league plate appearances.

The 26-year-old’s greater appeal lies in his speed and defensive profile. He’s a fleet-footed center fielder whom evaluators have long suggested could be a plus or better outfielder. He’s swiped nine bases in 12 attempts at the major league level, and he’s routinely pushed or exceeded 30 steals per year in the minors. That’s led to some hope he could stick as a fourth or fifth outfielder even as he’s struggled against upper level pitching, but the Tigers moved on amidst a rough offensive showing in Triple-A. He’s hitting .217/.269/.325 in 30 contests at that level this season, a disappointing follow-up to a .320/.377/.504 performance over a similar amount of action a season ago.

Hill is in his final minor league option year. The Mariners can keep him at Triple-A Tacoma for the remainder of 2022, but he’ll have to break camp with the team next season or be exposed to waivers if he sticks on the 40-man roster until then.

Padlo, also 26, has changed hands a few times over the past 12 months. Seattle originally nabbed him off waivers from the Rays last August, but they designated him for assignment in April. He was traded to the Giants, again DFA and reclaimed by the Mariners. The righty-hitting corner infielder has only appeared in 10 MLB games this season between the two clubs, instead spending most of the year in Triple-A.

Through 248 minor league plate appearances this season, the former fifth-round draftee owns a .246/.327/.455 line. That’s below-average production in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, but Padlo has hit very well up through Double-A in his career. His combination of power and plate discipline has caught the attention of a few teams, and rival clubs will get another opportunity to add him over the coming days. With the trade deadline in the rearview mirror, the M’s have no choice but to place Padlo on waivers now that he’s been taken off the 40-man roster.

Tigers Designate Derek Hill For Assignment

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The Tigers have designated outfielder Derek Hill for assignment, per a club announcement. His spot on the 40-man roster will go to lefty Andrew Chafin, who has been reinstated from the restricted list. Detroit also optioned righty Angel De Jesus to Triple-A Toledo to open an active roster spot for Chafin.

There’ll be more moves for the Tigers before too long — and not only because of tomorrow’s trade deadline. Chris McCosky of the Detroit News tweets that the Tigers will also need to make a pair of moves tomorrow, when righties Matt Manning and Wily Peralta are reinstated from the injured list.

Hill was the organization’s first-round pick back in 2014. The speedy outfielder was one of the more interesting prospects in the system for an extended stretch based on his baserunning and defense, but his bat hasn’t caught up to his glove. He’s appeared in the big leagues in each of the past three seasons, but he owns a .240/.291/.339 line with four home runs and a strikeout rate just below 30% through 254 plate appearances.

The 26-year-old Hill has also struggled mightily with Toledo this season. He’s hitting .217/.269/.325 in 30 Triple-A games, leading to his removal from the roster. He’ll presumably be placed on waivers over the next few days.

Tigers Place Victor Reyes On Injured List

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The Tigers announced today that they have placed outfielder Victor Reyes on the injured list with a left quad strain. Fellow outfielder Derek Hill has been recalled to take his place on the roster.

Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic relays word from Reyes, who says he’s been battling the injury all season. Despite that, he was off to a fairly strong start to the year. Reyes has a strikeout rate of 16% so far this year, well below his career mark of 22.1%. Similarly, his walk rate is at 8% on the young campaign, more than double his 3.9% career rate. His 112 wRC+ is also quite healthy, compared to the 82 he’s put up in his career so far. Of course, this is a tiny sample of just ten games and it would be unwise to draw sweeping conclusions from it, though there are positive signs in his Statcast profile as well, with his .394 xBA easily outpacing his numbers from previous years. It’s surely discouraging for the 27-year-old to have to sit out the next little while after a promising start to the year. Evan Woodbery of MLive relays word from manager A.J. Hinch, who apparently had a challenging time giving Reyes the news. Based on the fact that Reyes wanted to keep playing, it shouldn’t be a lengthy absence.

In more positive news for the Tigers, a couple of their offseason acquisitions could be returning from injuries shortly. Hinch told reporters that shortstop Javier Baez and reliever Andrew Chafin should be back in the coming days. (Twitter links from Woodbery) Baez played in five games for the Tigers, hitting .316/.350/.526, before being placed on the IL with thumb soreness. Chafin was signed by the Tigers to a two-year, $13MM deal but has yet to appear for the team due to a groin strain. Whenever they return, they will bolster the lineup and the bullpen, respectively. In the absence of Baez, the Tigers have been relying on two Castros, Willi and Harold, to fill the shortstop position. Gregory Soto is the only lefty in the club’s bullpen right now, but he has been deployed in the closer role, leaving the club a bit short-handed in the southpaw department.

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