Royals to call up Rich Hill

The 45-year-old would become the oldest player in club history

The Royals will call up 45-year-old left-hander Rich Hill, according to Fansided reporter Robert Murray. He will likely make the Tuesday start against the Cubs, which is currently listed as “TBA” by the Royals.

Hill was signed to a minor league deal by the Royals back in May. He made nine starts with Triple-A Omaha with a 5.36 ERA, tossing 48 strikeouts and 25 walks in 42 innings. Hill has 97 career wins and a 4.01 ERA as a 20-year veteran with the Cubs, Orioles, Indians, Angels, Yankees, A’s, Dodgers, Twins, Rays, Mets, Pirates, Padres, and four separate stints with the Red Sox.

Hill made a handful of relief appearances for the Red Sox last year, then pitched for Team USA in the Premier12 Tournament last fall. His fastball tops out at 88 mph, but he’s the stereotypical “crafty lefty”, relying heavily on his curve.

The Royals have an opening in their rotation after Michael Lorenzen hit the Injured List last week with an oblique injury. Hill’s promotion will require a 40-man roster move. Once he joins the roster, he’ll become the oldest player in club history, surpassing 44-year-old pitcher Gaylord Perry, who pitched for the Royals in 1983.

As I wrote back when the Royals signed him, he is quite old.

To give you an idea of how old he is, in his first game, Neifi Perez was his shortstop. In his rookie year he was teammates with Mike Remlinger who was teammates with Bud Black in 1991, who pitched on the 1985 Royals and was recently fired as manager of the Rockies. Rich Hill is older than Alex Gordon, Jarrod Dyson, Jeff Francoeur, Greg Holland, Wade Davis, Alcides Escobar, Billy Butler, Lorenzo Cain, Mike Moustakas, Danny Duffy, Eric Hosmer, Ben Zobrist, Alex Rios, Mark Teahen, Yuniesky Betancourt, Luke Hochevar, Chris Getz, and Mitch Maier.

But while some may say he’s old, others say he’s “experienced”. We’ll see how much mileage is left in that arm on Tuesday.