Oakland Athletics: Rich Hill scratched from Sunday start, putting trade status in question

The Oakland Athletics hoped to get Rich Hill on the mound before the trade deadline, but lingering blister issues will force him to miss Sunday’s start. What does this mean for his trade market?

Oakland Athletics pitcher Rich Hill has been one of the most talked-about names of the 2016 trade season, but recent injury issues have put his status in question. Interested teams were hoping to get one more look at the left-hander before the August 1 deadline, but the San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser reports that Hill will not make his next scheduled start on Sunday. Sonny Gray will take the mound in his place.

Hill has been dealing with a blister problem on his left hand that has limited him to just three outings (technically) since May 29. In his last start on July 17, he was forced to leave the game after tossing only five pitches. He threw a bullpen session today without a covering on the blister, and although Slusser says he felt better, the A’s decided he still wasn’t quite ready to make his return this weekend.

This doesn’t mean Hill’s chances of being traded are gone. On the contrary, there are numerous reasons to believe he will still be moved. It just means any team wanting to add him for the stretch run will be taking a definite risk. Naturally, Oakland’s asking price will surely have to adjust to reflect that.

A’s president Billy Beane has to be a bit disappointed with how the situation has played out over the past couple months. When Hill has taken the ball this season, he’s been great. In 14 starts he’s gone 9-3 with a 2.25 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 10.7 K/9. Oakland rolled the dice on the veteran over the winter, signing him to a one-year, $6 million contract on the strength of just four starts for the Red Sox at the end of last season. To be fair, those starts were excellent, as Hill allowed just five runs on 14 hits over 29 frames while striking out 36.

The A’s knew full well that if they fell out of the postseason picture and Hill was pitching well, they could easily spin him off for prospects at the deadline. It appeared that plan was coming together perfectly: while Oakland struggled to go on any real run, Hill picked up right where he left off, maintaining his stellar form in the 2016 campaign. Amidst a starting pitching market that seemed destined to be underwhelming, Hill could probably have fetched a nice return for the A’s, even as a rental player.

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Now, Oakland will have to temper its expectations. Though it’s always possible a pitching-needy club gets desperate right before the clock hits zero, no one is going to fork over premium minor league talent for a player they aren’t even sure will be able to take the ball every five days over the final months of the season.

Hill’s renaissance has been a surprise twist in the latter part of a career that is now in its 12th season. He’s largely been a journeyman throughout his MLB lifetime, owner of a 4.23 career ERA. Hill has also bounced between starting and relief roles, though primarily the latter in recent years. In fact, his starts for the Red Sox last year were his first since 2009. Injuries are nothing new to him either. Since 2013, when Hill made 63 relief appearances for the Indians, he has taken the field a total of 34 times. On top of all that, he’s 36 years old.

These factors might make teams think twice about putting too much faith in him. However, clubs were willing to take a chance on him during the offseason, and there should be at least a handful willing to do so again now. On the grand spectrum of injuries, Hill’s blister issue isn’t the most concerning if he can get it under control. Susan Slusser said that after throwing 60 pitches in his bullpen today, Hill is determined to build up the callus at the site of the blister.

Alternatively, the A’s could always hold on to Hill and hope for the best. Though they remain nine games out of a Wild Card spot, they have won seven of their last 10. They could also extend Hill a qualifying offer over the winter in hopes of getting a draft pick, though small-budgeted Oakland might have legitimate concerns about Hill taking the $16.7 million deal.

Ultimately, it seems like the A’s would do well to try to get something for him now, even if it’s not what they imagined a couple months ago.

Next: Trea Turner's move to CF

It should be an intriguing situation to monitor over the next few days as the trade deadline nears, with any outcome seeming like a possibility.