Chicago White Sox Sign Former Padres, Royals Relief Pitcher Tim Hill

Coming off extended stints with the San Diego Padres and Kansas City Royals, veteran reliever Tim Hill has decided to join the Chicago White Sox.

The Chicago White Sox have agreed to a deal with left-handed relief pitcher Tim Hill, ESPN's Jeff Passan reported Thursday afternoon.

Hill had spent the past four seasons with the San Diego Padres, and two with the Kansas City Royals before that. The 33-year-old was non-tendered by the Padres in November, making him a free agent for the first time in his career.

According to Passan, Hill is set to sign a one-year, $1.8 million contract with the White Sox.

Left-handed reliever Tim Hill and the Chicago White Sox are in agreement on a one-year, $1.8 million contract, sources tell ESPN. Hill, 33, was nontendered by San Diego this winter and joins a White Sox bullpen where he’ll get plenty of higher-leverage opportunities and innings.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 28, 2023

Hill is one of very few submarine-style pitchers in the big leagues.

After making his minor league debut in 2014, Hill missed all of 2015 while undergoing treatment for stage 3 Colon cancer. He eventually reached the majors in 2018, making a whopping 70 appearances as a rookie with the Royals.

Hill then went 2-0 with a 3.63 ERA and 1.109 WHIP in 2019 before getting flipped to the Padres in 2020. Ronald Bolaños and Franchy Cordero went back to Kansas City as part of the trade.

Although he had a bumpy first campaign in San Diego, Hill recovered to become a consistent contributor in 2021 and 2022. Between those two seasons, he went 9-6 with a 3.59 ERA and 26 holds in 133 outings.

Hill went 1-4 with a 5.48 ERA and 1.647 WHIP in 2023, however, falling out of favor in high-leverage situations as the season progressed. He suffered a sprained left ring finger in August, and he underwent season-ending surgery to clean up scar tissue a month later.

Chicago's bullpen was lacking experience after trading Kendall Graveman, Reynaldo López, Joe Kelly and Keynan Middleton at the deadline, then Aaron Bummer in November. 24-year-old relievers Gregory Santos and Garrett Crochet are sure to hold down the most significant roles in 2024, but getting a 33-year-old in Hill to round things out seems like a safe play.

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