The Red Sox announced Friday that they’ve designated left-hander Rich Hill for assignment. His spot on the roster will go to right-hander Luis Guerrero, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A Worcester.
Hill, 44, returned to the majors after sitting out the first two-thirds of the season. He’d said dating back to early in the offseason that he planned to wait until midway through the 2024 campaign before pursuing a return, taking the downtime to be with his family and, ideally, then being fresher for the finish to the current season. Hill began the 2023 season as a solid innings eater at the back of the Pirates’ rotation but faded considerably following a trade to the Padres.
Last month, Hill showcased for big league clubs and drew a wide array of scouts. He said at the time he felt he was ready to throw five innings and jump right onto a big league mound. The grizzled southpaw signed a minor league deal with the Red Sox — incredibly, his eighth career free-agent deal with Boston — and was indeed up in the majors after just one Triple-A appearance, wherein he tossed a pair of shutout innings.
The Sox didn’t plug Hill into the rotation, instead opting to use him in the bullpen. His first two outings could scarcely have gone better. He tossed 2 2/3 perfect innings, fanning three opponents. Over his next two appearances, Hill was tagged for a combined two runs on a homer and three walks. He fanned another two batters along the way. Overall, Hill pitched just 3 2/3 innings during his latest Red Sox run, logging a 4.91 ERA with five strikeouts and three walks.
Now that Hill has been designated, he’ll head to waivers. He’d be ineligible for a new club’s playoff roster if he’s claimed, though it’s at least somewhat feasible that a postseason contender seeking some pitching depth could still make a low-risk pickup and plug him into one of the final spots on its staff. If not, Hill can head to Worcester to continue pitching in Triple-A or again become a free agent. It’s not entirely clear whether he’ll aim to continue pitching, and with his 45th birthday coming next March, it’s fair to wonder how long he intends to keep going. At the very least, Hill fanned one-third of the batters he faced during this brief Red Sox run (five of 15), so there’s some reason to believe he could still have a bit left in the tank.
Guerrero, 24, has had a nice season in Triple-A, pitching to a 3.31 with a huge 33.1% strikeout rate but also a bloated 13.4% walk rate in 54 1/3 innings. MLB.com ranks him 28th among Sox farmhands, touting a fastball that sits 96-98 mph and reaches 100 mph at times. He complements that pitch with a splitter and slider. Guerrero throws hard and misses bats in bunches, but like so many young flamethrowers, his effectiveness is undercut at times by shaky command. This year’s 13.4% walk rate for Guerrero is an exact match for his career rate across all minor league levels combined.