Padres Rumors: LHP Tim Hill’s Future in San Diego ‘In Doubt,’ According to Insider

Padres' ability to retain LHP Tim Hill is questionable this upcoming offseason.

Your San Diego Padres are facing several roster uncertainties ahead of the 2024 season, the bullpen chief among them. As reported by Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune, the club's ability to retain key role players is in question due to their significant investment in long-term contracts.

Tim Hill: Even with his missing a third of this season with a finger issue, Hill’s 204 appearances since 2020 are more than all but 22 pitchers. The left-hander is a Swiss Army knife of sorts, too, pitching in multiple different roles. But the fact he will be due north of $3 million in his final year of arbitration puts his Padres future in doubt.

Kevin Acee - 

San Diego Union Tribune

In his career as a Padre, the left-hander has pitched 170.0 innings to the tune of a 4.18 ERA. While the ERA is not awe-inspiring, his value comes mostly from his ability to consistently post and his flexibility in usage. Whether or not the Padres value this ability at around 3$ million remains to be seen. 

With a little over $171 million already on the books for 2024 before arbitration, the team needs to find cheap, but effective, talent to fill out the rest of the roster. That leaves roleplayers like Tim Hill questionable to return. As of writing this article, the Friars only have 2 relief pitchers, Martinez and Suarez, locked down for 2024.

The team can address these vacancies in several ways. Without a clear answer in the farm system, the club could split Hill's projected $3 million across multiple relief pitchers in free agency. The Padres could also look to fill out the bullpen with players currently on the 40-man roster who have not reached arbitration. 

Regardless of the route the Padres choose, they need someone who can pitch in any situation and on short rest.