Padres News: Tim Hill Undergoes Surgery, Expected to Be Ready for Spring Training
Tim Hill has finally had surgery which will look to fix the finger issues he was constantly dealing with this season. He's expected to be ready for spring training, and will begin a throwing program is about six to eight weeks, per manager Phil Nevin and Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Before going down with injury Hill was having one of the worst seasons of his career, owning a 5.48 ERA in 44.1 innings of work.
His inflated ERA may be due to his finger injury that needed ligament repair and helped clean up scar tissue. A fully healthy Tim Hill is able to pitch a sub-4 ERA and around 45-60 innings of work.
The 33-year-old veteran is known for his practically horizontal release from the left side that confuses hitters and allows for his lower velocity to creep up on hitters.
This is Hill's fourth year with the Friars and he has been a pretty consistent piece out of the bullpen in middle innings and low-leverage situations.
Hill is still up for arbitration which the Padres will most likely exercise to bring the veteran back for a fifth year in San Diego since getting a reliable arm in the pen is hard to come by.
We wish him well on a speedy recovery and hope he's fully healthy and ready to go for a bounce back 2024 season.