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NL West Notes: Jankowski, Desmond, Hill, Wood, Ethier

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Padres center fielder Travis Jankowski hit the 10-day disabled list earlier this week with what the team called a “deep bone bruise” in his right foot, but there’s now a concern that Jankowski may have a hairline fracture as well, reports MLB.com’s Barry M. Bloom. If that’s the case, the 25-year-old could be out more than a month. Bloom quotes manager Andy Green as saying the team doctors aren’t yet able to determine if there’s a fracture (perhaps due to the swelling), but they’ll be cautious either way. Even if there’s no fracture, it sounds as if Jankowski can expect to miss more than the minimum 10 days. “They told me I’d be in the boot for another week to 10 days,” Jankowski tells Bloom. Jankowski turned in a marginal performance at the plate in 2016, hitting .245/.332/.313 in 383 plate appearances, but he played strong defense in center field and provided significant baserunning value with 30 steals.

More on the NL West…

  • Ian Desmond is nearing a return to the Rockies, manager Bud Black tells Nick Groke of the Denver Post. Desmond has been with the team but is splitting off to work at the team’s extended Spring Training complex this weekend, where he’ll begin playing in rehab games. According to Groke, Desmond will play multiple positions as he preps for the possibility of logging some outfield work in addition to his time at first base. Black tells Groke that Desmond is “closer than you think” to returning. Previously, Black has mentioned the possibility of Desmond working in the outfield against lefties to keep the Mark Reynolds’ hot right-handed bat in the lineup.
  • Left-hander Alex Wood will make at least one more start for the Dodgers, manager Dave Roberts told reporters (link via MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick). However, it’s also possible that Wood, who tossed six one-hit innings against the Giants in his most recent outing, will remain in the rotation even when Rich Hill is ready to be activated from the disabled list. “I think Alex has done everything he can to warrant a case to continue to be in the rotation,” said Roberts. “…I can’t say with 100 percent confidence when Rich will be back as a starter. There is talk about Rich potentially coming back sooner in a role out of the ’pen and that would leave an opportunity for Woody — who has pitched really well — to stay in the rotation.” Roberts has suggested on multiple occasions that Hill could be eased back from his blister problems as a reliever, though given the magnitude of his contract and last season’s excellence as a starter, one has to imagine that the team would eventually prefer that Hill rejoin the rotation.
  • Roberts also conceded the fact that outfielder Andre Ethier will be sidelined until June, “at the earliest,” as Andy McCullough of the L.A. Times writes. The Dodgers have been without Ethier since he was diagnosed with a herniated disk in his back late in Spring Training, and he’s yet to resume baseball activities more than five weeks after receiving an epidural injection. “The time that it’s taken, at this point, it’s almost like [he’ll need] a spring training again,” said Roberts. “…I’m not saying it needs to be a dedicated six weeks. But from the time of baseball activity, it’s easily fair to say [it’ll take] a month after that.” In Ethier’s absence, Andrew Toles has seen quite a bit of playing time, though he’s batting just .207/.258/.362 through 62 plate appearances.

Quick Hits: Cutch, Nats, Pirates, Crisp, Dodgers, Soler, Rangers

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Financial reasons played a key role in the Nationals’ offseason decision to trade for then-White Sox center fielder Adam Eaton instead of the Pirates’ Andrew McCutchen, reports FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal (video link). With his $4MM salary this year, Eaton is much cheaper than McCutchen ($14MM), and acquiring the latter would have forced the Nationals to jettison left-hander Gio Gonzalez and his $12MM price tag in a separate deal, says Rosenthal. In addition to having concerns over how their payroll would have looked with McCutchen, the Nationals had no interest in meeting Pittsburgh’s lofty demands for the five-time All-Star. Washington bought high on Eaton, whose excellent 2016 helped convinced the club to give up high-end pitching prospects Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez and Dane Dunning for him. McCutchen, on the other hand, had a career-worst season last year, yet the Pirates wanted an even more impressive package for him than the Nationals sent the White Sox, according to Rosenthal. Pittsburgh held out for both pitching prospects and major leaguers, leading the Nats to go in another direction.

More from around the sport:

  • Outfielder Coco Crisp said during the winter that he wasn’t ready to retire, and even though he still hasn’t landed a contract, the 37-year-old wants to continue playing, writes Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. Crisp hasn’t been able to find work on the heels of a season in which he hit an underwhelming .231/.302/.397 with 13 home runs and 10 stolen bases in a combined 498 plate appearances with the Athletics and Indians. He was worse in the field, accounting for minus-10 Defensive Runs Saved and a minus-11.1 Ultimate Zone Rating.
  • Dodgers left-hander Julio Urias “might” make his first big league start of 2017 in the coming week, manager Dave Roberts said Saturday (via Ken Gurnick of MLB.com). Urias would step in for Alex Wood, who Gurnick notes would return to the bullpen after making a start in place of the injured Rich Hill on Friday. The 20-year-old Urias tossed 5 2/3 scoreless innings and 93 pitches Friday with Triple-A Oklahoma. As for Hill, who has dealt with chronic blister issues since last year, he has “tinkered” with a new grip during his latest DL stint, per Roberts. Hill has also tried to cure his problems with pickle juice and rice, among other methods mentioned by Gurnick. It seems the 37-year-old has made progress in his recovery. “It’s toughened up for sure,” Hill said of the blister.
  • Jorge Soler is getting closer to making his Royals debut. The outfielder, on the shelf since March with an oblique injury, began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Omaha on Friday, relays Dave Sessions of MLB.com. The Royals are unsure when they’ll call up Soler, whom they acquired from the Cubs for closer Wade Davis over the winter. When Soler is healthy enough to return, his bat “could be a big boost,” manager Ned Yost said. Kansas City’s offense entered Saturday dead last in the majors in both runs and wRC+, so its lineup certainly needs a jolt.
  • Rangers minor league left-hander Joe Palumbo will undergo Tommy John surgery during the upcoming week, tweets TR Sullivan of MLB.com. Palumbo, one of the Rangers’ 10 best prospects, will now lose a year of development as a result of a torn ulnar collateral ligament. The 22-year-old was extremely impressive this season at the High-A level, where he recorded a 0.66 ERA, 14.49 K/9 and 2.63 BB/9 in 13 2/3 innings.

NL West Notes: Bochy, Gardenhire, Dayton, Hill, Padres

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MLBTR extends its best wishes to Giants skipper Bruce Bochy and Diamondbacks bench coach Ron Gardenhire, each of whom underwent surgery today, according to a pair of club releases. Bochy had a “minor ablation procedure this morning to alleviate some discomfort he was experiencing due to an atrial flutter,” the Giants said in a statement. Bochy is expected to rejoin the team on Friday, and in the interim, bench coach Ron Wotus will assume managerial duties. Gardenhire’s surgery was part of his ongoing treatment for prostate cancer, which he was diagnosed with during Spring Training. Both veterans are among the most respected and well-liked managers/coaches in the game, and we join those around the industry in wishing Bochy and Gardy full recoveries.

A few notes from around the NL West…

  • The Dodgers announced that left-hander Grant Dayton has been placed on the 10-day disabled list due to an intercostal strain. Right-hander Josh Fields has been recalled from Triple-A to take his spot on the active roster. The injury to Dayton, who has provided L.A. with 32 2/3 innings of 1.65 ERA ball dating back to his MLB debut last season, leaves Luis Avilan as the lone southpaw in manager Dave Roberts’ bullpen (as their depth chart at RosterResource.com shows). To this point, there’s no word on whether Dayton will be able to return in the minimum 10 days or if he’ll require a lengthier stay on the shelf.
  • Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register writes that Rich Hill’s lack of blisters during Spring Training and immediate blister flare-up early in the season has left the Dodgers’ training staff “baffled” about what could’ve caused the issue. Roberts said that “everything” is on the table when it comes to getting Hill back up to speed, and the manager elaborated a bit on the notion of a temporary bullpen role for the left-hander to get him through the current issue. While some will question the decision to bring Hill back so quickly only to see the issue pop back up, Roberts doesn’t think insufficient rest isn’t to blame. “Put it this way – he shut down all winter and we didn’t see this blister until his first start,” said Roberts. “You can argue that resting it isn’t the solution because he had as much rest as he could and there wasn’t a sign of this until he made his first start.”
  • The Padres are looking for more production at shortstop but are hoping for one of Erick Aybar, Allen Cordoba or Luis Sardinas to step up for the time being, writes AJ Cassavell of MLB.com. There’s some optimism in the organization that prospect Luis Urias could emerge as a viable option, though he could be a ways off from the Majors. Urias opened the year at Double-A but is just 19 years of age. He did post a very strong .333/.404/.446 batting line as one of the youngest players in the Class-A Advanced California League last season, though, and even got a brief cup of coffee in Triple-A in 2016 (three games). In the meantime, manager Andy Green praised Aybar’s eye at the plate (he’s walked six times) and voiced confidence that hits will begin to fall in for the veteran. Aybar is hitting just .147/.293/.206, while Sardinas comes with less of a big league track record and Cordoba is swimming with sharks after jumping directly from Rookie Ball to the Majors as a Rule 5 pick.

Rich Hill Heads Back To 10-Day DL

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After his blister problem reappeared in his most recent outing, Dodgers lefty Rich Hill is heading back to the DL, per a club announcement. For the time being, corner outfielder/infielder Rob Segedin is headed up to the active roster while Alex Wood will take the open rotation spot.

There’s plenty of uncertainty in Hill’s situation. As things stand, the team is examining ways to treat the ongoing problem, though there’s no timetable at present and it seems there’s little in the way of clear answers. Manager Dave Roberts acknowledged that the organization’s medical staff has been stymied thus far in its efforts to get at the root cause, as MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick reports on Twitter. (Gurnick provided more detail on the confounding issue earlier today.)

The strategy of utilizing the 10-day DL to provide rest obviously wasn’t successful on its own. As Roberts notes, and Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times tweets, “ten days wasn’t enough.” Whether additional rest will provide a solution obviously isn’t known, though presumably that’s one possible action. It’s even possible that the veteran southpaw could move to the bullpen upon his return, Roberts says (as Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register tweets), with the idea presumably being that shorter stints may help alleviate the problem.

Fortunately, the Dodgers do have ample depth built into their plans. Every member of the current MLB staff has at least some significant recent injury on his record, but the current top five seems to be a strong and healthy unit at the moment. Swingman Ross Stripling could also step into the rotation, while Triple-A starters Julio Urias and Joe Gunkel could also be called upon. Scott Kazmir and Brock Stewart both represent additional starting options who are currently on the mend.

While the organization always knew there was some health risk with the 37-year-old Hill, that doesn’t soften the blow. The Dodgers promised Hill $48MM over three years to bring him back into the fold, so while a bullpen move might at least allow him to contribute and stay fresh while the team looks for a permanent fix, such an approach would surely not return value on the contract over the long run.

Injury Notes: Happ, Hill, Flowers, Segura, Cishek

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A day after placing Aaron Sanchez on the DL, the Blue Jays might have lost another starting pitcher today — J.A. Happ will have an MRI after leaving today’s game with elbow trouble, as Sportsnet’s Arden Zwelling and other reporters have noted. “I felt kind of a pull, a tug in my elbow,” says Happ. “And then I went back out there for the fifth and it just got progressively worse.” A significant injury to Happ would be yet another blow to a Blue Jays team that is already off to 2-10 start that had already led to whispers that the team could be sellers on the trade market this summer. Here are more notes on injuries.

  • Dodgers lefty Rich Hill’s second start of the season ended just as his first one did — with an early departure due to blister trouble, as Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times notes. Shaikin further adds in a tweet that the Dodgers will decide tomorrow whether Hill will require another DL stay. The team could even consider moving him to the bullpen, manager Dave Roberts tells reporters, including MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick (link to Twitter). Presumably, pitching shorter outings could prevent blister flareups. Hill pitched just three innings in the Dodgers’ 3-1 loss to the Diamondbacks. “We’ve talked to a lot of different people that have issues with that outside of our game, and we just can’t pinpoint it,” Roberts said before the game of Hill’s blister issues. “We’re going to continue to try. We don’t have an answer.”
  • Braves catcher Tyler Flowers is day-to-day with a strained hamstring he noticed during Sunday’s game, as MLB.com’s Mark Bowman notes. “We’re going to re-evaluate him tomorrow and see where we’re at. Hopefully it’s nothing real serious, because he’s swinging that bat real well,” says Braves manager Brian Snitker. The Braves will wait to decide whether to place Flowers on the DL. In Flowers is out for awhile, Kurt Suzuki will start and Anthony Recker will back him up. Both are already on the Braves’ active roster.
  • Mariners infielder Jean Segura and reliever Steve Cishek are close to returning from injury, writes MLB.com’s Greg Johns. Segura has been doing some supervised running to test his ailing hamstring, and hopes to return on Friday, when is when he’s first eligible to come back after going on the DL last Tuesday. Cishek, meanwhile, is beginning a rehab assignment with Double-A Arkansas. Cishek is still making his way back after having microfracture hip surgery last October.

Injury Notes: Richards, Turner, Drew, Zych, Cishek, Price, Hill, Baez

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Angels righty Garrett Richards may be due for a longer DL stint than had first been expected, as Pedro Moura of the Los Angeles Times reports. Richards has yet to pick up a ball since going down with a biceps strain. Given the time he has already missed, and the lack of progress thus far, it seems increasingly likely that some kind of rehab stint could be required. There’ll no doubt be some added caution taken given that Richards is only just returning from a lengthy rehab of a UCL injury. The Halos are going with J.C. Ramirez in his stead; he’ll take the ball to start a game in the big leagues for the first time tonight, as J.P. Hoornstra of the Orange County Register writes.

  • The Nationals are still waiting to determine a timeline for shortstop Trea Turner to return, as Byron Kerr of MASNsports.com writes. Manager Dusty Baker suggested that the club is willing to allow Turner plenty of rest to ensure that there isn’t a larger setback. The hope, though, is that it isn’t a significant injury. Of course, fellow infielder Stephen Drew — Turner’s would-be replacement — also went down with a hammy strain. He’s more or less in the same boat, it seems. “There’s no timetable,” said Drew. “But I’ll do the best I can to get back as soon as possible.” While it’s hardly the Nats’ preference, they’ll at least get a good look at youngster Wilmer Difo in the meantime.
  • Righty Tony Zych is back in action for the Mariners, with the club announcing he has been activated from the 10-day DL. Southpaw Dillon Overton is heading out on optional assignment to open a roster spot. Shoulder issues hampered Zych last year and forced him into surgery, but he’ll look to regain the excellent form he showed in 2015 — which would be quite welcome for a Seattle club that is off to a dreadful start. Meanwhile, Steve Cishek is nearing a rehab assignment and could be back in the majors, too, after he makes three or four appearances, MLB.com’s Greg Johns tweets.
  • The Red Sox are beginning to chart a course for lefty David Price, as Jen McCaffrey of MassLive.com reports. It’s possible that Price could be ready to face live hitters in a few days, with a rehab assignment representing the next likely step. McCaffrey suggests that he’ll require at least four outings in the minors, meaning it could still be another month until Price is back in Boston.
  • Southpaw Rich Hill of the Dodgers is slated for a return on Sunday, as Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times tweets. Per Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register (via Twitter), the hope was that Hill’s blister wouldn’t prove too problematic during a pen session yesterday. It seems that he has come through unscathed, so he’ll step back into the rotation for L.A.
  • Meanwhile, the Dodgers have activated setup man Pedro Baez, who missed most of camp after being struck on the thumb by a batted ball. The 29-year-old righty continued to show swing-and-miss stuff last year, and somewhat quietly has compiled a 3.08 ERA over 149 MLB frames, with 9.7 K/9 against 2.3 BB/9, over his three years in the majors. Despite four strong appearances thus far (no runs on one hit and one walk with six strikeouts), Josh Fields is headed to Triple-A to make way for Baez.

Dodgers Place Rich Hill On 10-Day DL Due To Blister

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The Dodgers announced today that they’ve placed left-hander Rich Hill on the 10-day disabled list due to a blister on his left middle finger. Righty Josh Fields has been recalled from Triple-A to fill Hill’s spot on the roster.

The oft-injured Hill has dealt with blisters in the past and missed time with the issue after joining the Dodgers in 2016 as well. Despite his frequent injuries and questionable durability, Hill’s elite performance since improbably resurfacing in the Majors late in the 2015 season prompted the Dodgers to ink him to a three-year, $48MM contract this offseason. Hill is only a week into that sizable contract, but he’s already demonstrated both the upside and frustration that come along with that deal. The 37-year-old tossed five innings of one-run ball with five punchouts in his season debut, and while outings of that caliber figure to be frequent when healthy, today’s news is yet another reminder that he’s long stood out as an injury risk.

The shortened 10-day term of the disabled list in the 2017 season makes it easier for the Dodgers to briefly shelve the left-hander and tap into their considerable minor league pitching depth, however. Fields will give skipper Dave Roberts another arm to help compensate for the hopefully abbreviated loss of Hill. The Dodgers have an off-day next Tuesday, as well, which could help them to manage their rotation in Hill’s absence. Andy McCullough of the L.A. Times tweets that pitching coach Rick Honeycutt said that Alex Wood could get a spot start in Hill’s place next Monday. McCullough also tweets that Roberts said lefty Julio Urias won’t be considered for next Monday’s outing, despite being slated to start in Triple-A that day.

Dodgers Notes: Hill, Zaidi, Forsythe

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Here’s the latest from Chavez Ravine…

  • Rich Hill’s life and incredible career turn-around is profiled by Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times, detailing how the journeyman southpaw went from just trying to eke out a major league job to posting some of the best numbers of any pitcher in the sport over the last two seasons.
  • The Dodgers’ acquisition of Logan Forsythe from the Rays for Jose De Leon is something of an overpay for L.A., Fangraphs’ Dave Cameron opines.  Cameron feels there’s risk involved in the trade given De Leon’s potential, the fact that Dodgers themselves could’ve used De Leon’s arm in the bullpen or as rotation depth, and that the Dodgers could’ve given up a bit more prospect capital to acquire Brian Dozier, a player Cameron argues is markedly better than Forsythe.  Still, the deal makes sense if the Dodgers are in win-now mode and are already looking ahead to another potential playoff matchup with the Cubs in October.
  • Dodgers GM Farhan Zaidi also discussed the Forsythe deal in an interview with Jim Memolo and Kevin Kennedy on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (audio link), noting that Forsythe was “on a very short list of targets” for the club’s second base vacancy.  Zaidi described the Dodgers’ search for a second baseman as “pretty drawn-out and “unfortunately, probably more of it got out into the public than we would’ve liked.”

Dodgers Re-Sign Rich Hill

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1:48pm: Hill gets a $2MM signing bonus and will earn $12MM in 2017, $16MM in 2018 and $18MM in 2019, according to the Associated Press.

12:02pm: The Dodgers announced today that they’ve officially re-signed left-hander Rich Hill to a new three-year contract. Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register reported over the weekend that the two sides were closing in on a deal. Yahoo’s Tim Brown reports that Hill, an ACES client, will receive a $48MM guarantee over the life of the deal (Twitter link).

Rich Hill

Hill, 37 next Spring, has had one of the most remarkable late-career renaissances in history, as he’s still just 18 months removed from pitching with the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League. Hill parlayed a September roll of the dice by the Red Sox in 2015 into a one-year, $6MM deal with the A’s last offseason. For Hill, even last year’s $6MM represented a life-changing number, as he’d never earned more than $1MM in a single MLB season. Prior to this deal, Hill had earned just over $9MM in parts of 12 big league seasons, per Baseball Reference.

Despite a groin strain and a blister issue that limited him to 110 1/3 regular season innings in 2016, he proved to be a steal for Oakland, who traded him to the Dodgers alongside Josh Reddick for three well-regarded young arms (Jharel Cotton, Grant Holmes and Frankie Montas) just before the non-waiver trade deadline.

Over his past 152 1/3 Major League innings (including the postseason), Hill owns a ludicrous 2.13 ERA. He’s racked up 184 strikeouts against just 44 walks in that time while also keeping the ball on the ground at a roughly league-average rate. While the durability concerns that accompany him are very real — Hill has made more than 20 starts just once in his career, back in 2007 — Hill was the only arm on the free-agent market that had the potential to pitch at the top of a Major League rotation. The Dodgers, in need of quality innings behind ace Clayton Kershaw (who missed two months with a back injury in 2016), can afford better than any club to take this level of risk on Hill.

With this re-signing, Hill will join Kershaw, Kenta Maeda and Julio Urias in the team’s Major League rotation next season, and the Dodgers are teeming with options beyond that quartet. Los Angeles has three injury-prone options that have proven to be quality arms when healthy in Scott Kazmir, Brandon McCarthy and Hyun-jin Ryu, but reports have indicated that the Dodgers are shopping Kazmir and McCarthy. Other options for the fifth spot include Alex Wood, Jose De Leon, Ross Stripling and Brock Stewart, giving president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, GM Farhan Zaidi and the rest of the L.A. front office plenty of flexibility as they explore various trade scenarios this winter.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Dodgers, Rich Hill Nearing Agreement

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SUNDAY, 7:09pm: An official announcement from the Dodgers about a Hill agreement isn’t likely to happen tonight, Andy McCullough tweets.

SATURDAY, 6:48pm: The Dodgers and Hill are “closing in” on a contract, tweets Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register. They’re unlikely to reach an agreement today, per Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times, though he corroborates Plunkett’s report that a deal is forthcoming (Twitter link). The Dodgers aren’t facing much of any competition from Hill’s previously reported suitors – the Astros, Rangers or Yankees – according to FanRag’s Jon Heyman.

4:02pm: Another team who tried to negotiate a deal with free agent starter Rich Hill believes the lefty has a three-year contract worth $40MM or more in place with the Dodgers, Peter Gammons tweets. Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe tells a similar story, saying the Dodgers might already have a deal in place for Hill for three years and $46MM-$48MM. Cafardo, though, emphasizes the possibility that one of a number of East Coast teams could still sign him. No move has been confirmed by Hill or the Dodgers at this point, however.

The latest rumors about Hill had the Dodgers as one of four teams bidding for his services, along with the Yankees, Rangers and Astros. The Red Sox and Orioles were also believed to be interested. Hill, of course, is coming off an outstanding age-36 season with the Athletics and Dodgers during which he posted a 2.12 ERA, 10.5 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 in 110 1/3 innings, including a start in which he was pulled a perfect game after seven innings. His performance in 2016 landed him the No. 14 spot on MLBTR’s list of the top 50 free agents, making him one of the top starters available.

The downsides with Hill are his age and his lengthy injury history — even in his 2016 breakout campaign, he dealt with blister problems and a groin injury. As Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times points out via Twitter, though, the Dodgers’ depth puts them in position to take advantage of Hill’s upside while minimizing their risk if he’s not available to pitch. Particularly given Hill’s vanishingly low 2016 home run rate of 0.33 per nine innings, there’s reason to be somewhat skeptical of his ability to repeat his incredible performance last season. He could regress a fair amount in the next couple years and still be a vital contributor, however, and if he does return to the Dodgers, he should provide their rotation with a healthy boost if he’s able to stay healthy.

For Hill, a $40MM-plus contract would represent an enormous financial windfall — he has spent most of his career as a journeyman and has never had a long-term deal. He’s also never made more in a season than the $6MM he made last year.

The Dodgers are currently dealing with debt issues, but those issues seem unlikely to prevent them from pursuing a free agent of Hill’s stature, and the team has not been required to reduce its payroll. In addition to Hill, the team has also been fleetingly linked to other potentially expensive or relatively expensive players like Aroldis Chapman and Andrew McCutchen.

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