Dodgers Targeting Yankees Veteran Reliever in Free Agency, But Have Plenty of Competition

The Los Angeles Dodgers will almost certainly sign at least one relief pitcher this offseason.

Three of the Dodgers' biggest free agents — Evan Phillips, Alex Vesia and Blake Treinen — were relievers. Phillips has already signed with the Atlanta Braves on a three-year, $35 million deal, while Vesia is drawing interest from half the league and could be priced out of the Dodgers' range. As for Treinen, it's unclear if he'll be continuing his career heading into what would be his age-39 season.

The Dodgers could still retain Vesia or Treinen. If they don't, it's likely they'll sign at least one bullpen arm to fill the void left by the three pitchers — and they seem to be targeting one potential Vesia replacement.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported that the Dodgers are among the five teams interested in New York Yankees free agent left-handed reliever Tim Hill.

Heyman says the Yankees and Cleveland Guardians are "at the forefront" of the pursuit. Behind them are the Dodgers, New York Mets and San Francisco Giants.

The Yankees are interested in bringing back Tim Hill. The Guardians, Mets, Giants and Dodgers are among other teams in the mix
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) November 12, 2026

How Would Tim Hill Fit With the Dodgers?

Hill, who turns 37 in February, is a nine-year MLB veteran who's been with the Yankees since June 2024.

The soft-tossing, sidewinder has a career 3.94 ERA over 519 appearances with the Kansas City Royals, San Diego Padres, Chicago White Sox and Yankees. Over the last three seasons in New York, he's accumulated a 3.34 ERA over 169.2 innings.

Hill is much more of a lefty specialist, as left-handed batters have a career .588 OPS against him. Right-handed hitters, on the other hand, have an .807 OPS.

That makes Hill not an exact replacement for Vesia, who's been fairly neutral against both righties and lefties in his career. Still, he would add a left-hander to a bullpen that's currently very right-handed heavy with the likes of Edwin Diaz, Edgardo Henriquez, Brock Stewart and Will Klein, among others.

The Dodgers don't appear to be the most aggressive players in the Hill sweepstakes. However, they'll likely add to the bullpen at some point, which general manager Brandon Gomes alluded to at this week's GM Meetings.

"Bullpen is probably an opportunistic thing, and looking at who fits within our group," Gomes said. "We have a lot of really young, talented guys that you could go out and give reps to and see who emerges. We didn’t expect Edgardo to be on the team coming out of the season, but he pitched himself into a high-leverage role. So it’s balancing that, making sure you have enough depth, but also some opportunity for young guys to really emerge."

Spotrac projects Hill's market value at one year and $5.6 million. In 2026, he earned $2.85 million.

Add us as a preferred source on Google