On Thursday, the White Sox made another move to restructure their team when they decided to give veteran left-handed reliever Tim Hill a one-year contract worth $1.8 million. In a matching action, Chicago designated right-hander Declan Cronin for assignment.
Hill, 33, played with the Padres during the previous four seasons, where he recorded a 4.18 ERA in 170 innings pitched and only one save. He had the worst statistical season of his career, pitching 44 1/3 innings with a 5.48 ERA before having season-ending surgery on his finger at the end of September. At the end of the season, he was not tendered by the Padres. Throughout his career, the left-hander has limited left-handed hitters to an average of.223 and tossed five scoreless innings in postseason play. In 2018, he pitched 45 2/3 innings in his career debut with the Royals.
While he doesn’t throw hard — he finished last season in the 6th percentile in fastball velocity – he had a barrel rate of 5.1 percent and had a ground ball rate of 63.5 percent. Hill’s profile fits into the plans of general manager Chris Getz and manager Pedro Grifol to build a stronger team defensively in ‘24.
Hill is Chicago’s second veteran addition this week, as they agreed to a one-year deal with catcher MartÃn Maldonado on Wednesday — which has yet to be announced by the team. The White Sox also signed reigning Korea Baseball Organization MVP Erick Fedde to a contract earlier this offseason and acquired catcher Max Stassi in a trade with the Braves.
The Braves acquired veteran left-hander Aaron Bummer from the Giants in exchange for five players, including infielder Nicky Lopez, right-hander Mike Soroka, and left-hander Jared Schuster. This marked Getz’s first offseason as general manager. With Hill joining fellow southpaws Garrett Crochet, Tanner Banks, Sammy Peralta, and Rule 5 addition Shane Drohan on the 40-man roster, the White Sox now have a different look from the left side thanks to Hill’s sidearming approach.
Although intended as a starter, Jake Eder is also on the 40-man roster. The White Sox may eventually include crochet in their starting rotation plans as well.