Rich Hill, 44, signed a minor league contract with the Red Sox. According to multiple reports On Thursday.
The left-hander has played five seasons with the team (2010-2012, 2015, 2022) over his 19-year MLB career, marking his fourth stint with the organization.
According to ESPN’s Buster Olney, he is expected to sign with Triple-A Worcester on Sunday or Monday.
Hill returned to professional baseball after spending the 2023 season with the Pirates and Padres, pitching 146 ⅓ innings in 32 games (27 starts) with a 5.41 ERA.
If he makes it to the majors this season, Hill will become the oldest player in major league baseball, a title he held last season.
He will be the oldest player to play in MLB since Ichiro Suzuki played at age 45 in 2019 and the oldest pitcher since Bartolo Colon took the mound at age 45 in 2018.
After debuting with the Cubs in 2005, Hill struggled to get a foothold in the major leagues over his first 10 seasons, bouncing between six organizations before finishing his second stint with Boston in 2015.
That year, Hill, then 35, parlayed four impressive starts with the Red Sox into a one-year contract with the Athletics and has been a fixture in major league starting rotations ever since.
Hill has a record of 90 wins and 73 losses with a 4.01 ERA in 382 career games (248 starts).
Hill is looking to join the Red Sox, who are on the brink of an American League wild card race.
Boston was 63-57 going into Friday’s game and was 2.5 games behind the Royals for the third wild card spot in the American League.
The Red Sox starting rotation has been hit hard by injuries in 2024, with Lucas Giolito, Garrett Whitlock and James Paxton all set to miss the season at various points.
