According Rob Bradford of WEII, the Mets are one of three teams showing “significant interest” in left-hander Rich Hill. The other two teams mentioned are the Tampa Bay Rays and Milwaukee Brewers.
Hill could be an interesting fit for the back end of the Mets rotation. When healthy, the veteran southpaw is one of the more reliable starters in the game.
However, to this point in his career, that has been one giant IF. The 40-year old has dealt with his fair share of injuries, only topping 100+ innings pitched in four of his 16 big league seasons.
Last season with the Twins, Hill made eight starts and pitched to a solid 3.03 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, and 3.99 FIP. Prior to that Hill made 68 starts over four seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers and posted a 3.16 ERA, 3.71FIP, 2.8 BB/9, and 10.6 K/9.
Hill cost Minnesota just $3 million on a one-year deal last offseason, so he should come relatively cheap. If the Mets were to pivot to Hill to fill out the rotation, it would allow them to also fill other needs around the diamond, such as in center field and at third base.
As currently constructed, the Mets are likely looking at a rotation of Jacob deGrom, Carlos Carrasco, Marcus Stroman, David Peterson, and Joey Lucchesi. With the added quality depth the Mets have acquired this offseason, Hill could be a very interesting fit to the backend of the rotation.
