Rotation bolstered with acquisition of Hill
The Mets didn’t fix their starting pitching problems Friday afternoon. But they at least took a step forward in an attempt to remedy the issues.
A week before the July 30 trade deadline, they landed 41year-old left-hander Rich Hill from the Rays in exchange for injured reliever Tommy Hunter and minor league catcher Matt Dyer.
“Our front office is being diligent. We talked about our starting pitching needs,” manager Luis Rojas said before the Mets opened a three-game series against the Blue Jays with a 3-0 win at Citi Field. “This is a guy that fits right in . ... It’s going to help us hugely.”
The deal could help immediately, since the Mets were desperate for capable starting pitchers due to myriad injuries forcing an unhealthy workload on their bullpen. Jacob deGrom, Carlos Carrasco, Noah Syndergaard, David Peterson, Jordan Yamamoto, Joey Lucchesi, Corey Oswalt and Robert Stock are all on the injured list.
Carrasco was shelled in his most recent rehabilitation outing and deGrom is only throwing lightly while dealing with tightness in his forearm. The others do not appear close to returning. Lucchesi is out for the season following Tommy John surgery and Stock was moved to the 60-day IL due to a hamstring injury.
Prior to this move, the Mets were uncertain of how they would cover Sunday’s series finale against the Blue Jays and Monday’s doubleheader with the Braves. They had just three healthy starting pitchers: Taijuan Walker, Marcus Stroman and Tylor Megill.
“Fired up. I think he’s going to be really good for us,” Trevor May, who played with Hill on the Twins last year, told The Post. “He keeps it light when he’s not pitching and he’s hyper-competitive when he is pitching. He’s one of the more intense guys I’ve ever seen between the lines.”
The well-traveled Hill was having a strong season with the Rays, going 6-4 with a 3.87 ERA in 19 starts, although he has struggled of late, posting a 4.56 ERA in June and a 4.97 ERA in July.
Rojas declined to name a day on which Hill would start before talking to him, but it seems likely he will get the ball Sunday or Monday. His previous outing was last Sunday, when he threw 83 pitches and allowed three earned runs in four innings against the Braves.
One concern in landing Hill is how he has pitched recently. After being named the American League Pitcher of the Month for May, he has not been the same since, possibly due to MLB’s enforcement of foreign substances. His spin rate is down across the board. His curveball’s average spin was at 2,803 rpm prior to the memo going out at the owners meeting on June 3. Since, it is 2,589.
“I’m not aware if there is any difference stuff-wise ever since the crackdown started happening,” Rojas said.
One scout familiar with Hill thinks he can help the Mets, if used correctly.
“They should encase him in a glass case and break him out at playoff time or in key games. Start him three times a month,” the scout said. “The Dodgers used him that way. They made certain he was healthy for five innings in key moments. He can’t go every fifth day anymore.”
The Mets, for now at least, don’t have that luxury.
The oldest pitcher in baseball, Hill briefly pitched for the independent league Long Island Ducks in 2015, where he saved his career after getting designated for assignment by the Nationals. He remade himself there and has a 3.07 ERA with the Red Sox, Athletics, Dodgers, Twins and Rays ever since.
“This is a great addition, I think. A guy who has experience, has been on great teams, playoff contenders,” Rojas said. “It’s just going to bring a lot of experience. We don’t have a guy like that here, his profile, that veteran guy that has experience like this and could bring different stories from different teams, and being in the playoffs multiple times. It’s a great addition. This can only make us better right now.”