With the Los Angeles Dodgers in need of a starting pitcher, they acquired Rich Hill as part of a five-player trade with the Oakland Athletics prior to the Aug. 1 non-waiver trade deadline. On Wednesday, Hill was one of nine Dodgers to reach free agency.
Hill’s debut with the Dodgers was delayed on three separates instances, because of lingering blister issues. He took the mound Aug. 24 against the San Francisco Giants and proved to be well worth the wait.
In his first start in over one month, the veteran left-hander spun six shutout innings against the Dodgers’ archrival.
Hill went 3-2 with a 1.83 ERA in six regular-season starts after the trade. He recently expressed an interest to re-sign with the Dodgers, via SportsNet LA:
“Absolutely … With the leadership that’s here — Clayton being the best pitcher in baseball. … It’s something that you want to be around.”
Hill struggled a bit in the Division Series, but rebounded with a strong showing against the Chicago Cubs in the NL Championship Seres. He held the eventual World Series champions to just two hits and had six strikeouts in six innings in Game 3, helping propel the Dodgers to a 2-1 series lead.
Well aware of the forthcoming market that’s short on premier starting pitchers, the Dodgers reportedly had an interest in re-signing Hill to a multiyear contract prior to free agency beginning.
Although the process is now in motion, the Dodgers do have until Monday to exclusively re-sign Hill and their other free agents.
