The stove is heating up for the Chicago White Sox as Jeff Passan of ESPN announced that the team signed Tim Hill to a one-year, $1.8 million contract.
Hill, 33 years old, has a chance to join a White Sox bullpen that's going to need as much help as it can possibly get. He's going to pitch in huge situations for the club if they enter 2024 as currently constructed.
The front office has made decent moves in December. They added Martin Maldonado, a veteran catcher, and now Hill, a veteran reliever. Whether or not Chicago contends is one thing, but adding veteran players should never be looked at as a negative.
At the very least, Hill can be someone who teaches the younger guys what it takes to play in the show.
The left-hander has six years of Major League Baseball experience. He spent the last four years with the San Diego Padres and started his big league career with the Kansas City Royals for two seasons. He owns a career ERA of 4.16 and a FIP of 4.25.
Hill was non-tendered by the Padres after posting a 5.48 ERA out of the pen in 2023. When he's at his best, he's producing ground ball outs. The strikeout numbers have been way down as he only struck out 26 in 44.1 innings last season. That comes after a 2022 season where he struck out just 25 in 48 innings.
In the 2021 season, Hill struck out 56 in 59.2 innings. While it's unlikely he gets back to that status, it's something to watch out for. If he can give the White Sox 50-plus innings out of the pen with 45-plus strikeouts, this will come back to be a great signing.
He's not the big name that fans might want, but Hill has good stuff and can get outs for this White Sox bullpen.