Former Padres Pitcher Signs With American League Contender

Rich Hill is well on his way to returning for a 21st season in Major League Baseball.

The former Padres pitcher signed a minor league contract with the Kansas City Royals, who announced the move on Twitter/X Tuesday.

We have signed LHP Rich Hill to a minor league contract. He will report to Surprise and is expected to join Omaha (AAA) soon.
— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) May 13, 2025

Hill, who turned 45 in March, appeared in 10 games in 2023 for the Padres. He had been out of baseball since he was released by the Boston Red Sox last September. His new contract allows him to opt out at a later date if he is not added to the Royals' major league roster.

Not since 2004 has an MLB season passed without Hill throwing a pitch. The Royals would be the 14th team to employ him at the major league level if he is promoted this season.

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Hill will pick up where he left off last fall, when he signed a minor league deal with his hometown Red Sox, but was released by Boston in Sept. 2024. The left-hander saw action in four major league games, all out of the bullpen, going 0-1 with a 4.91 ERA before being designated for assignment.

In 386 career games, Hill is 90-74 with a 4.01 ERA. He sat out the beginning of the 2024 season to coach his son's Little League team, but showed he can still retire major league hitters in an era when teams are trending toward younger pitchers with faster fastballs.

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Last winter, Hill participated with — and against — players half his age in the Premier12 tournament in Japan.

"I'd love to play another year and have an opportunity to get into the postseason and win a World Series," Hill told Bob Nightengale's USA Today last November. "That's everybody's dream. I've been close a couple of times, but it's not like anything I've experienced in the game.

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"Playing in the postseason, there's nothing like it. Nothing at all like it."

Kansas City is an excellent launching pad for a possible postseason berth. The Royals are currently 25-18, more wins than all but one American League team, after clinching a Wild Card berth and advancing to the AL Division Series last October.

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Hill debuted with the Chicago Cubs in 2005, four years after he was drafted out of the University of Michigan. Besides the Cubs and Padres, he has also pitched for the Baltimore Orioles, Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, Oakland Athletics, Boston Red Sox, Minnesota Twins, Tampa Bay Rays, New York Mets, Pittsburgh Pirates, Cleveland Guardians, Los Angeles Angels and New York Yankees.

For more Padres news, head over to Padres on SI.