45-Year-Old Former Minnesota Twins Pitcher Signs With New AL Central Team

Pitching has been a significant bright spot for the Minnesota Twins for most of this year, long before the bats came around. But solid pitching, both in the rotation and bullpen, have not always been a luxury afforded to our favorite baseball team.

Flashback to 2020, an interesting time for a bunch of different reasons. The Minnesota Twins, along with the rest of the MLB participated in a truncated 60-game season, where they went 36-24, but never had a winning streak longer than six games. That pitching staff had some interesting names on it… including 40-year-old Rich Hill.

Royals sign former Minnesota Twins starter Rich Hill

Most professional baseball players don’t make it into their mid-30s, before leaving the game. Not Hill. Five years after what we thought was a last hoorah in Minnesota, the former 2002 4th round pick out of Michigan is signing with his 14th MLB team. This time it’s a minor league deal with the 45-year-old’s 14th MLB organization, the Kansas City Royals.

We have signed LHP Rich Hill to a minor league contract. He will report to Surprise and is expected to join Omaha (AAA) soon.

— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) May 13, 2025

Last season Rich Hill returned to Boston. He pitched just 3 2/3 innings at the major league level. It was his sixth season with the Red Sox though. He waited for an opportunity to present itself in 2025, and now the Kansas City Royals have come calling.

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Hill has not pitched professionally since the 5 2/3 innings he threw for the Boston Red Sox organization last season, between Triple-A and the big leagues. While the deal is a minor league one, it stands to reason that the now 45-year-old left-hander will get his shot back in the MLB very soon, or this deal doesn’t get done.

In 2023 Hill pitched 146 1/3 innings for the Pittsburgh Pirates and San Diego Padres. His 4.76 ERA (4.43 FIP) with Pittsburgh landed him in San Diego for the stretch run. He flopped to the tune of an 8.23 ERA (6.77 FIP) in 27 1/3 innings, however.

Rich Hill, 70mph Breaking Ball (home plate view/tail).

In case you were wondering what 20 inches of break looks like. pic.twitter.com/qlSxHVFqfl

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) August 28, 2021

Hill has never been a high velocity arm. As a rookie, he threw 90 mph. Last year with the Red Sox, he averaged 87.6 mph on his fastball. Rich Hill is a spin doctor, who uses his curveball 38.1% of the time over the course of his career.

Where does Hill fit for the Royals?

It remains to be seen how many turns Hill will take in Omaha, but it’s very plausible the Twins could see him at some point this season. The Minnesota Twins are set to play against the division rival Royals in 10 days, but then they won’t see them again until early-August.

It seems unlikely that Kansas City would insert Rich Hill into the starting rotation. Their group of Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha, Kris Bubic, Cole Ragans, and Michael Lorenzen have each made all of their starts. Kansas City is also 25-18, good for second in the AL Central Division.

Related: Big Time MLB Insider Suggests MN Twins Could Consider Trading… Byron Buxton

The bullpen may present an opportunity though, and Hill brings a left-handed presence to the group. Southpaw Angel Zerpa has thrown 15 innings for Kansas City and owns a gaudy 7.20 ERA (6.18 FIP). That’s not a high bar for Hill to clear, and he brings the veteran presence with him.

It will be interesting to see how quickly the Royals deem Hill ready to compete. If they do, Hill could have runway to stick if things work out. He would be nearly 10 years older than every teammate with Mark Canha (36) being the current elder statesman.