The Yankees Upgrade Their Bullpen with Latest Move

The Yankees grabbed him after he was released, and pitching coach Matt Blake helped him remake himself into a very valuable piece in the bullpen.

This was an obvious move for the Yankees and Hill, who had the best year of his career with them.

After losing out on top free-agent slugger Juan Soto, the Yankees emphasized run prevention. That included reshaping their bullpen with the addition of top closer Devin Williams in a trade from the Brewers. That allows Luke Weaver, another of Blake's reclamation projects who was closing in the World Series, to set up for Williams in the eighth or be used in high-leverage situations in earlier innings.

The Yankees also brought back right-hander Jonathan Loaisiga, a dynamic multi-inning reliever recovering from Tommy John surgery. Along with Fernando Cruz, another potential diamond-in-the-rough the Yankees acquired from the Reds this winter, and returning relievers Jake Cousins and Mark Leiter, Jr., the bullpen is complete with Hill.

But bringing back Hill was critical.

Hill is the only left-handed reliever on the 40-man roster. Hill had a 4.31 career ERA and a 5.87 ERA in 23 innings of 2024 when the Yankees acquired him.

With the Yankees, Hill started relying more on his sinker-slider combination, and his groundball rate shot up to a career-high 68.1%, also the best in the majors.

His barrel rate (1.7%) was in the 100th percentile.

Against handed-hitter, Hill held them to a .273 average and .643 OPS. Right-hander were .303/.704 against Hill.

In the playoffs, Hill allowed one earned run over 8 ⅓ innings.