Former Pirates Pitcher Signs with Royals
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PITTSBURGH — A former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher is looking to make his way back onto an MLB roster for the first time this season.
The Kansas City Royals announced on May 12 that they signed left-handed pitcher Rich Hill to a minor league contract. They also announced that he'll report to Surprise, Ariz., where the Royals' Spring Training facility is, and then join Triple-A Omaha soon.
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 is 45-years old and if he pitches for the Royals at the MLB level, he'll make it 14 teams in his career that he's played for, tying former right-handed pitcher Edwin Jackson's record of most teams played for in an MLB career.
He pitched for the Pirates in the 2023 season at 43 years old, after signing a one year, $8 million deal in the offseason.
Hill made 22 starts for the Pirates that season, finishing with a 7-10 record, a 4.86 ERA over 119.0 innings pitched, 104 strikeouts to 47 walks and an opposing batting average of .272.
He had two scoreless starts for the Pirates, going six innings and allowing just one hit while posting seven strikeouts in an 8-0 win over the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park on May 17 and going five innings and striking out seven batters in a 2-1 win over the Cincinnati Reds on April 22 at PNC Park.
The Pirates would trade Hill and designated hitter/first baseman Ji-man Choi to the San Diego Padres for left-handed pitcher Jackson Wolf, first baseman/outfielder Alfonso Rivas and outfielder Estuar Suero on Aug. 1, 2023.
Hill struggled with the Padres, going 1-4 in 10 appearances and five starts with an 8.23 ERA over 27.1 innings pitched.
He hails from Boston and has played for the Red Sox in four different stints from 2010-12, in 2015, in 2022 and most recently in 2024.
Hill has spent four seasons, the longest with an MLB team, twice, including his first four seasons from 2005-08 with the Chicago Cubs and the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2016-19.
He pitched a perfect game against the Pirates through eight innings on Aug. 23, 2017, before an error broke that up.
Hill still had the no-hit situation through nine innings, but allowed a solo home run to Pirates utilityman Josh Harrison, giving the home team a 1-0 win at PNC Park. This marked the first time a walk-off home run ended a no-hitter in MLB history.
He has also pitched for the Baltimore Orioles in 2009, Cleveland Indians in 2013, both the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in 2014 and New York Yankees in 2014, Oakland Athletics in 2016, Minnesota Twins in 2020 and both the Tampa Bay Rays and New York Mets in 2021.
Dominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.