Rich Hill, Starting Pitcher
Has there been a better comeback story in the past year than that of Rich Hill? Hill, 36, made his way out the Independent League to the Boston Red Sox, and parlayed his spectacular Red Sox run into a one-year, $6 million deal with the Athletics.
However, Hill suffered an injury in his last start, leaving with a mild groin strain. According to MLB.com, Hill doesn’t expect to miss any time. If Hill is able to stay healthy, and proves unaffected by the groin injury, he would be arguably the top pitcher on the trade market.
In 11 starts this season, Hill is 8-3, with a 2.25 ERA and has a WHIP of 1.125. To illustrate just how good Hill was with Boston at the tail end of 2015, his WHIP was 0.655. It would be difficult to duplicate that over an entire season, but his 2016 WHIP to this point is still among the best of his career. His contract makes him the ideal type of player to trade, as a low-risk move for the Athletics, and its paid off in a large way already. Also, if a team were to acquire Hill, there wouldn’t be a ton of financial burden attached. There could be several teams interested in Hill, but like Reddick, if the Athletics keep Hill, look for him to get a qualifying offer in the offseason.
Next: A Struggling Ace