Minnesota Twins: Rich Hill close to baseball activities with June return date
The Minnesota Twins acquisition underwent experimental elbow surgery this offseason, but is expected to be a part of the rotation by June.
The Minnesota Twins have been known for their low-risk, high-reward gambles in recent history and this offseason, they rolled the dice one more time with the signing of veteran pitcher Rich Hill. The 40-year old is enjoyed one of the more productive stretches of his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers but underwent elbow revisionment surgery this past winter in an effort to avoid Tommy John surgery.
Those words can’t be encouraging for a Twins team that has sought out “impact pitching,” but his latest update on his recovery is cause for optimism. Speaking at the team’s annual TwinsFest celebration, Hill revealed he’s close to resuming baseball activities and the plan is for him to join the rotation in June.
“It’s only a six-year-old surgery, and it’s had a huge amount of success of people who have had it and come back,” Hill said via MLB.com’s Do-Hyoung Park. “I think it’s above a 95 percent success rate, so it’s something that I’m extremely excited about.”
If all goes well, the addition of Hill could be something that Twins fans warm up to as the season rolls along. After spending the majority of his career as a reliever, Hill became a starter with the Oakland Athletics in 2016 and was traded to the Dodgers later that season.
That’s where Hill’s late-career renaissance took off as he compiled a 30-16 record and a 3.16 ERA in three-plus seasons in Los Angeles. Although he didn’t re-sign with the Dodgers this past offseason, that could be to the Twins gain after offering him a $3 million deal that can earn up to $9.5 million in innings incentives.
Hill’s experience and effectiveness would be a perfect addition to the Twins’ clubhouse, which is why the veteran decided to come to Minnesota in the first place.
“It really came down to winning a World Series,” Hill said. “That’s the biggest thing. … I think that’s something that, looking at this locker room and looking at a team that won over 100 games last year, it was a huge, motivating factor for me in signing here.”
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Between Hill and Homer Bailey, the Twins are hoping that they’ve found a diamond in the rough as they did with Jonathan Schoop and C.J. Cron for their infield last season. If that’s the case, it could be enough to push them over the hump for their first playoff series victory since 2002.