Veteran left-hander Rich Hill is on his way back to the majors. The Boston Red Sox have selected Hill's contract and added him to the active roster, the team announced Tuesday. Boston signed Hill on Aug. 15 to a minor-league contract, and his promotion comes after a scoreless two-inning appearance for Triple-A Worcester. Pitcher Greg Weissert was also called up, while pitcher Lucas Sims was placed on the IL with a right lat strain and pitcher Brad Keller was demoted in a series of corresponding moves.
The 44-year-old Hill is coming off a 2023 season for the San Diego Padres and Pittsburgh Pirates in which he pitched to a 5.41 ERA and 4.87 FIP in a combined 27 starts and five relief appearances. For his career, Hill owns an ERA+ of 107 across parts of 19 big-league seasons. For Hill, a Massachusetts native, this will be his fourth stint with the Red Sox. He previously pitched for Boston from 2010-12 and again in 2015 and then in 2022. In all, Hill has pitched for 13 different teams at the major-league level.
As for the Red Sox, they're starved for pitching as they try to remain in the playoff chase in the American League. Notably, offseason addition Lucas Giolito underwent season-ending elbow surgery in the spring; Bryan Mata has yet to pitch this season because of hamstring, shoulder, and elbow issues; Garrett Whitlock was lost to elbow surgery after just four starts; and lefty Chris Murphy's UCL gave out before he could make a start this year. As well, trade-deadline addition James Paxton recently went down with a calf injury, which created the need and cleared the decks for Hill to return to the majors.
Boston enters Tuesday's slate with a record of 67-64, trailing the Minnesota Twins by five games in the race for the third and final wild-card spot in the American League. Presently, SportsLine gives the Red Sox a 17.3% chance of reaching the postseason.