The Yankees added to their bullpen Thursday, signing veteran reliever Tim Hill before their series finale against the Orioles.
The submarine-style lefty inked a one-year deal, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan. The Yankees will have to pay Hill the pro-rated minimum, roughly $397,000, according to the New York Post’s Joel Sherman, after the White Sox designated the 34-year-old for assignment on June 12.
Chicago released Hill on June 18. The Yankees designated Clayton Andrews for assignment to make space for Hill.
A seven-year pro, Hill had a 5.87 ERA over 23 innings for the White Sox this season. He wasn’t particularly good with the Padres in 2023, either, posting a 5.48 ERA over 44.1 innings.
However, Hill’s sinker-heavy profile (62.5% of his pitches) and high groundball rates (61.1% for his career) fit the mold of what the Yankees often look for in their bullpen.
While the unit needs to add more strikeout stuff, the Yankees also need live arms after Ian Hamilton and Cody Poteet, a starter so far this season, went on the injured list earlier this week. Other injured Yankees pitchers with bullpen experience include Nick Burdi, Scott Effross, Jonathan Loáisiga, Clayton Beeter and Lou Trivino.
Effross and JT Brubaker, a starter by trade, recently began rehab assignments.
While Hill has had a rough go of it the last two seasons, he did have success with Kansas City and San Diego before that. He recorded a 3.88 ERA from 2018-2022, striking out 182 batters over 211 innings.
Hill has a 4.30 ERA for his career.
Despite his high ERA this season, Hill’s expected ERA was 3.45 with the White Sox, a significant improvement from his actual mark. Keep in mind, Chicago is one of the worst defensive teams in the sport, and Hill ranks in the 98th percentile for groundball percentage this season.
He also ranks in the 99th percentile for Barrel%.
