beginner Max Fried and Carlos Roden is the only left-handed pitcher on the Yankees’ 40-man roster, making it clear that the Bronx Bombers bullpen is in need of some left-handed depth. Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports that the team is considering a number of alternatives for the lefty, including a possible tie-up with Tim Hill.
Hill was cut by Chicago in June after posting a 5.87 ERA in 23 innings with the White Sox and was quickly signed to a new contract by the Yankees. The change of scenery did wonders for Hill’s bottom-line results, as he posted a 2.05 ERA in 44 games with New York during the regular season before self-defeating in 10 games and 8 1/3 innings in the postseason. The ERA was just 1.08.
Hill’s status as an extreme ground ball pitcher can cause such big swings in his performance, as one often needs to look only at ERA to fully gauge the veteran lefty’s effectiveness. Hill had a huge BABIP with the White Sox and then a .238 BABIP with the Yankees, which might explain why the difference in SIERA (3.33 with New York, 4.04 with Chicago) isn’t as big as Hill’s ERA might suggest. big. The biggest change is the improvement in control. Hill’s walk rate was 8.5% with the Red Sox and only 5.2% with the Bronx.
Now entering his age-35 season, Hill has a 3.99 ERA in 322 1/3 career innings over seven MLB seasons, with a 61.8% ground ball rate helping to overcome a career strikeout rate of just 17.3%. Those numbers naturally include a lot of success against left-handed hitters, as Hill held hitters on the same side to an OPS of .614 (compared to a .788 OPS for right-handed hitters). That home run has been an issue for Hill in the past, although he gave up just two home runs in 75 1/3 combined innings during the 2024 regular season and postseason.
Almost exactly a year ago, Hill signed a one-year, $1.8MM deal with the White Sox after not being tendered by the Padres. His late-season success with the Yankees likely means Hill will get another guaranteed contract this winter, although his age and somewhat inconsistent record will limit him to a one-year deal. The limited price tag is certainly an advantage for the Yankees, who are already projected to exceed the top of the luxury tax penalty. From Hill’s perspective, given his success post-trade, one would imagine he would also be interested in returning to the Yankees and winning a World Series ring again.
