If a team is serious about winning the World Series, it cannot have enough excellent bullpen arms. Even rarely are excellent southpaws who can come in and assist totally close the door. To that reason, left-handed bullpen pitcher Tim Hill, who finished the 2024 season with the New York Yankees, is attracting a lot of attention from teams with high expectations, even at this late stage in free agency.
According to Pat Ragazzo of Sports Illustrated, in addition to the Yankees’ interest in keeping the veteran southpaw in the Bronx, the New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers are also apparently keeping an eye on the 34-year-old lefty. The Arizona Diamondbacks are another team interested in acquiring Hill from the Yankees, while the Colorado Rockies and Los Angeles Angels, both at the bottom of the standings, have also expressed interest in signing Hill.
At the very least, Ragazzo stated that Hill and the Yankees have “mutual interest” in reuniting; yet, the Mets remain a possibility, since Hill is allegedly interested in joining the Queens-based team.
It’s only natural that the Mets will be the team to step up as the Yankees’ top challenger for the services of someone who served the 2024 team admirably. As one would recall, the Mets were the team who offered Juan Soto a contract he couldn’t refuse. As they want to outperform the Yankees, it’s likely that Hill will also join them.
How much can Tim Hill help a competitive club like the Yankees or Mets?
Getting the platoon edge may not be as vital as it once was, but it’s evident how important this issue will be in any team’s pursuit of Tim Hill. Hill is a lefty who performs better against opposing lefties; in 2024, he allowed only a.643 OPS versus southpaws, while right-handed batters hit.303 against him. (.704 OPS).
Throwing Hill out on the mound when multiple lefties are up to bat in an inning could be beneficial for a contending team; however, given Hill’s lack of a long track record of success (he has a career 1.4 WAR, per Fangraphs, and has been pitching since 2018), he shouldn’t cost too much for a contending team looking to fill an empty bullpen spot or two.
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