Dodgers to explore reunion with Rich Hill despite surplus of starting pitching
Representatives of Rich Hill, who is eligible for free agency, are having a “dialogue” with the Dodgers about the pitcher possibly re-signing with the club.
Standing near a conference room doorway, Dodgers General Manager Farhan Zaidi had a small group of reporters surrounding him.
“What do you guys have questions about?” Zaidi said with a grin on the second day of Major League Baseball’s general managers meetings here. “Besides our three big free agents.”
The first two are obvious — third baseman Justin Turner and closer Kenley Jansen. Andrew Friedman, the team’s president of baseball operations, has identified those two positions as the most vital to the team’s off-season. The club needs to either re-sign or replace those players. But the third free agent, starting pitcher Rich Hill, creates a more intriguing question for the front office.
The team remains in “dialogue” with the representatives for all three players, Zaidi indicated. This is far from shocking. The Dodgers are expected to speak with the agents for dozens of players, including closer Aroldis Chapman, as they navigate the off-season. The team views Hill as the best starting pitcher in a seller’s market.
The Dodgers enter the off-season with nine pitchers who classify as ready for big league usage. Clayton Kershaw stands at the top of the pyramid. Beneath him is a stockpile that features unsteady options such as Kenta Maeda and Alex Wood, veterans who will be dangled in trades such as Scott Kazmir and Brandon McCarthy, and a group of players who debuted in 2016 — Julio Urias, Ross Stripling, Jose De Leon and Brock Stewart.
“We just have a number of options that we feel like put us in position to have an above-average major league rotation, which allows that to be a real strength for us next year,” Friedman said. “How that’s constructed, we don’t know yet.”
Added Zaidi: “We always talk about building a 162-game rotation, not necessarily a five-man rotation. I think we have the guys to get through 162 games. Now it’s just a question of whether we can improve the quality and target some high-end guys that would really change the configuration of where guys slot in.”
The depth is enviable among opposing clubs, but still vexing for a fan base that longs to pair Kershaw with another ace. Once again, the Dodgers are likely to explore a trade involving Chicago White Sox ace Chris Sale, but the prospect of consummating his acquisition remains unlikely unless the price is lowered. The Dodgers will stay in contact with the White Sox to monitor Sale’s availability and that of fellow left-hander Jose Quintana.
Those discussions could heat up during the summer if the White Sox suffer through another season out of contention. The Dodgers possessed the prospects necessary to acquire Hill and outfielder Josh Reddick from Oakland in August. The Dodgers’ farm system features enough talent to swing another deal for a starting pitcher next season.
But for now, a reunion with Hill appears more probable than a trade for Sale. Despite being limited by blisters on his left hand, Hill starred at times for the club. He had a 1.83 earned-run average in six starts for the Dodgers. He completed seven innings of a perfect game in September. He has a 2.00 ERA in 24 starts since 2015.
That production compares favorably to the other available starters. Hill will compete for wages against a crop of free agents headlined by Jeremy Hellickson (3.71 ERA in 2016), Jason Hammel (3.83 ERA) and Ivan Nova (4.17 ERA).
Hill “certainly had the best 2016 season of the available guys,” Zaidi said.
But there are concerns. Hill turns 37 in March. The blisters kept him sidelined for months in 2016. In 12 seasons in the majors, he has only 610 1/3 innings. And given the rest of the free-agent class, another club might be willing to offer Hill a contract that exceeds the Dodgers’ comfort level.
“It’s tough having a crystal ball with any of these guys,” Zaidi said. “Especially somebody who is as unique as he is.”
Unlike in previous winters, when the team offered multiple-year deals to veterans such as Kazmir and McCarthy, the Dodgers feel their organization features enough depth to prioritize quality over quantity. Zaidi referred to Hill’s blisters as “idiosyncratic,” but his team’s surplus of talent also makes them uniquely suited to sign Hill, who may require time off during the season.
“Whenever you have a good player, you want him to play as much as possible. But that’s one of the benefits of depth,” Zaidi said. “When there are questions or concerns about durability, losing guys for some period of time doesn’t impact as much as it might in other situations.”
Follow Andy McCullough on Twitter @McCulloughTimes
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