Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Rich Hill (44) reacts after striking out the last batter to end the seventh inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Fenway Park in 2024. David Butler II-Imagn Images

Kansas City Royals Agree to Minor League Deal with 45-Year-Old Hurler as He Chases History

Originally posted on Minor League Baseball on SI
By Brady Farkas | Last updated May 13, 2025 3:04 PM ET

The Kansas City Royals, in hopes of a deep playoff run this October, have signed veteran left-handed pitcher Rich Hill to a minor league contract.

Hill, 45, has spent parts of 20 years in the big leagues already with 13 different teams. If he makes the Royals, he'll tie the MLB record of playing for 14 teams, per @TalkinBaseball_ on "X."

Royals have signed 45-year-old lefty Rich Hill to a Minor League contract

If he pitches for the big league team, he'll tie Edwin Jackson's MLB record by playing for his 14th team pic.twitter.com/Y0dv3QzJ1M
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) May 13, 2025

Hill has appeared most frequently for the Boston Red Sox, playing parts of six seasons for his hometown team. He's also spent time with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Indians, Pittsburgh Pirates, Tampa Bay Rays, Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees, Oakland Athletics, New York Mets, San Diego Padres, Minnesota Twins and Los Angeles Angels.

A true late-bloomer, Hill re-invented himself in his 30s. He won 11 games with the Cubs in 2007 but then didn't win double-digit games again until 2016 with the Athletics and Dodgers. Lifetime, he's 90-74 with a 4.01 ERA. He's appeared in 386 games, earning 248 starts.

He made four appearances for the Red Sox last season.

Kansas City is coming off a season in which it advanced to the American League Division Series before losing to the New York Yankees.

Kansas City enters play on Tuesday at 25-18 and in third place in the American League Central. They'll take on the Houston Astros at 8:10 p.m. ET. Left-hander Kris Bubic will pitch for the Royals while Framber Valdez goes for Houston.

Bubic is off to a 4-2 start with a 1.69 ERA while Valdez is 2-4 with a 3.94 ERA.

The Royals report that Hill will report to Triple-A Omaha soon, but he'll head to the team's Arizona complex first.

This article first appeared on Minor League Baseball on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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