Royals Bolster Pitching Staff, Agree to Minor League Deal With 45-Year-Old Left-Hander

At 45 years old, Rich Hill is still trying to work his way back onto a major league roster. He is now one step closer to that goal, as the Royals announced that they had agreed to a minor league contract with Hill.

The left-hander will report to Surprise, Arizona, and then is expected to join Kansas City’s Triple-A team in Omaha sometime in the near future.

Hill has spent 20 seasons in the major leagues with 13 different teams. If he is able to make it to the major leagues this season, he will tie Edwin Jackson’s record of appearing with 14 different teams in his career. In a career as long as Hill’s, it is a bit crazy to see that he has never received any kind of award or even a nod in the All-Star game.

Still, Hill has done solid work throughout his career, with a record of 90-74 and a 4.01 ERA across 386 games and 1,409 innings pitched. He also appears to still be a bit durable, as just two seasons ago he made 32 starts with the Pittsburgh Pirates and San Diego Padres in his age-43 season.

It is unclear what kind of production Kansas City is hoping to get out of Hill, as the team currently ranks No. 3 in Wins Above Average from starting pitchers. That would indicate that the signing could be more about helping Hill tie Jackson’s record rather than him actually contributing on a well-performing Royals team.

Either way, it is impressive enough to see that a 45-year-old is still putting in the work and time it takes to continue his major league career for at least one more season.

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