A's Negotiating With Pitcher Rich Hill

The Oakland A’s are negotiated a deal with pitcher Rich Hill, according to MLB Daily Dish.

The Boston Red Sox called Hill up from the minors in September. The left-hander delivered four solid starts and delivered a nice 1.55 ERA, 0.65 WHIP and 36/5 K/BB ratio in 29 innings. The San Diego Padres and Tampa Bay Rays are among the other teams interested in the free agent.

Sources: Athletics are involved in negotiations with Rich Hill.

— Chris Cotillo (@ChrisCotillo) November 18, 2015

The 11-year veteran has been used strictly as a relief pitcher since 2010 after mostly being used as a starter in the five seasons prior. Hill started 32 games with the Chicago Cubs in 2007 but started 13 in 2009. He never started a game in the majors until the Red Sox called him up this season. September is when rosters expand to 40 players. Since Boston was well out of the race for the postseason, it provided an opportunity for Hill to show what he’s got. He delivered on every level and now has multiple teams coming for him.

The downside is his age and the ability to show he could deliver throughout the course of an entire season like he did back in 2007 when he had a 3.92 ERA. He pitched with an independent team before coming over to Boston. Hill did not pitch in the minors at all in 2015. Teams apparently will still take a chance on the veteran. The upside is that he’s pitched for six different teams. He has plenty of experience and could be go on the market at a rather cheap rate with a potential big upside for 2016.

Oakland always finds a way to find cheap talent and make those players in quality MLB stars. The A's starting rotation is never the same year after year. There's currently eight starting pitchers on their depth chart for next season. The potential Salary of Hill could get him in the top five.