Why Tim Hill Is on Thin Ice With Yankees 3 Weeks Before MLB Playoffs

This reliever for the New York Yankees shouldn't see a single important postseason inning this October.

The Yankees will need to see a lot more from Tim Hill to feel confident about having him on the playoff roster. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Tim Hill is experiencing his worst season with the New York Yankees. It isn't terrible by conventional standards. A 4.31 ERA in 54.1 IP is serviceable for most teams, but the Yankees have higher hopes than most teams do.

It doesn't feel like Hill has that lights-out streak in him anymore, the way he did during their World Series run in 2024, where he should have pitched to Freddie Freeman in game one, or even last year.

That first game against the Rockies showed just how unreliable Hill has been at times this season. He was tasked with protecting a 5-1 lead and, after taking the ball out of Brent Headrick's hand, he failed to get the necessary outs. After walking TJ Rumfield, Hunter Goodman homered off Hill, forcing closer David Bednar to come in.

One thing about Hill this season, per Baseball Savant, is that he still has a solid 5.5% walk rate, 6.2% barrel rate, and an elite 67.4% ground ball rate, but his ability to get batters chasing is way down. In 2025, he had a 34.5% chase rate. That has plummeted to 27.5.

Right now, Hill is purely a contact pitcher. That just doesn't work when you also have an average exit velocity of 89.7 MPH and a 43.8% hard-hit rate.

Tim Hill's Yankees outlook moving forward

This isn't to say that the Yankees should outright designate Hill for assignment at this point in the season. They still need arms to close out the year, and they shouldn't be a man short right now. His positioning as a guy to eat innings was the perfect spot for him before he ended up forcing manager Aaron Boone's hand.

The decision to pull Hill from the bullpen, though, should come closer to the postseason. At that point, they'll have a few more reinforcements, and if the Yankees need a lefty, that can be a job for Ryan Weathers, who is due to be back in a few weeks. He can be that lefty neutralizer, and on top of that, Boone would feel more comfortable having him face righties as well.

Ryan Weathers's eventual return could help the Yankees solve their Tim Hill problem. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

With a 4.32 expected ERA this year and a .260 expected batting average, it's hard to even say that Hill has run into bad luck. What he has given the Yankees this year is exactly who he is. By the time the postseason rolls around, they'll have better, more reliable options coming out of the bullpen. They can even get a little creative by having their starters eat up a few innings.

The only conceivable spot for Hill in the playoffs is probably for him to eat up innings if there is a blowout, but that's about it. He shouldn't get any important innings there.

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