One day after adding Jesse Chavez, Josh Fields, Rich Hill and Josh Reddick to the organization, the Los Angeles Dodgers activated Chavez and Reddick prior to beginning a three-game series with the Colorado Rockies.
Fields was sent to the Minors, with the specific affiliate not yet known, and Hill is to be placed on the Dodgers’ 15-day disabled list. The Oakland Athletics put the southpaw on the DL July 30, retroactive to July 20.
Hill was removed in the first inning during his July 17 start, and prior to that last pitched July 7. He becomes the 23rd player this season placed on the DL by the Dodgers, which sets a National League record.
The 36-year-old is eligible to be reinstated Thursday. While that date appears unlikely, Hill does plan to throw a bullpen session at Coors Field as a means of testing his blister, per Andy McCullough of the LA Times:
Rich Hill will test his blister by throwing a bullpen session tomorrow.
— Andy McCullough (@McCulloughTimes) August 2, 2016
Assuming all goes well in the bullpen session, Hill may be ready to make his Dodgers debut on Saturday. However, general manager Farhan Zaidi didn’t rule out a rehab start that would come prior to Hill joining the rotation, via Ken Gurnick of MLB.com:
Zaidi said a rehab start for Hill is a possibility before he joins rotation.
— Ken Gurnick (@kengurnick) August 2, 2016
If Hill starts for the Dodgers this weekend, with the earliest date appearing to be Saturday, it will come against the same Boston Red Sox who signed Hill out of the independent league last season.
Hill is 9-3 with a 2.25 ERA, 2.53 FIP, 1.09 WHIP this season. He leads American League pitchers (minimum 75 innings pitched) in ERA, and ranks second in opponents’ batting average (.201), and ninth in WHIP and strikeouts per nine innings (10.66).
