Kansas City Royals left-handed pitcher Rich Hill, who made his MLB debut in 2005, will debut for his 14th different MLB franchise when he faces the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday in Chicago. File Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI | License Photo
The Kansas City Royals plan to promote Rich Hill from Triple-A, which will make the 45-year-old pitcher the oldest active player in MLB.
Royals manager Matt Quatraro confirmed the move Monday night. Hill will start against the Chicago Cubs — the team that drafted him in 2002 — on Tuesday in Chicago.
“He’s done well,” Quatraro told reporters. “He’s had a couple of ups and downs, performance-wise. But when he’s been locating, he’s been really good.”
With his appearance, Hill will tie Edwin Jackson’s MLB record for the most franchises played for (14).
Hill appeared in four games last season for the Boston Red Sox and signed a minor league contract with the Royals in May. The left-handed pitcher went 4-4 with a 5.36 ERA over nine appearances this year for the Omaha Storm Chasers.
Hill went 0-1 with a 4.91 ERA over his four appearances last season for the Red Sox. Hill went 90-74 with a 4.01 ERA over his first 386 MLB appearances. He won a career-high 12 games twice — in 2016 and 2017. Hill went 12-5 with a 2.12 ERA over 20 starts in 2016, which he split with the Oakland Athletics and Los Angeles Dodgers.
Hill also played for the Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians, Los Angeles Angels, New York Yankees, Minnesota Twins, Tampa Bay Rays, New York Mets, Pittsburgh Pirates and San Diego Padres.
The Royals (49-52) sit in third place in the American League Central, 11 games behind the division-leading Detroit Tigers (60-41). The Cubs (59-41) sit in second place in the National League Central, one game behind the division-leading Milwaukee Brewers (60-40).
Hill and the Royals will meet the Cubs at 8:05 p.m. EDT Tuesday at Wrigley Field.
