Re-Grading every Red Sox offseason move two months in

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BOSTON, MA – MAY 30: Rich Hill #44 of the Boston Red Sox delivers during the first inning of a game against the Baltimore Orioles on May 30, 2022 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images) /

Red Sox sign Rich Hill to a 1-year, $5 million deal

My issue with the Rich Hill signing isn’t really about his performance. Expecting anything more than mediocrity from a 42 year-old with such a measly pitch repertoire. Hill has thrown a lot of strikes, allowed a lot of hard contact, and has an ERA slightly worse than league average, which is exactly what he’s done for most of his career.

Yet that’s the problem with the signing. The Red Sox expected him to be better than mediocre: They expected him to be a major league caliber starter, and have placed the lefty in the rotation all season. No team with championship aspirations should be depending on a pitcher who is in the 8th percentile in whiff percentage and 12th percentile in expected batting average to start 20% of their teams game, but that’s exactly what the Red Sox are doing.

Because the contract is only for one year and five million dollars, I can’t give the Red Sox too low a grade for the signing, especially when his rate stats are pretty close to his last few seasons. Just because his contract is palatable, however, doesn’t mean his performance is.

Grade: C-

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