Rich Hill is staying in the Boston Red Sox organization.
Hill, who currently is pitching at Triple-A Pawtucket, could have opted out of his contract with the Red Sox on Thursday — the left-handed reliever had a limited May 15 opt-out date if he wasn’t on Boston’s major league roster and had another big league opportunity. Hill is staying put, though, and the 34-year-old will continue pitching for the PawSox for the time being.
Hill retired all four batters he faced in an appearance with Pawtucket on Thursday. The lefty owns a 2.66 ERA over 20 1/3 innings spanning 13 appearances with Boston’s Triple-A affiliate.
The Red Sox signed Hill over the offseason to add some organizational bullpen depth. Hill struggled with the Cleveland Indians in 2013, but he pitched pretty well while with the Red Sox organization from 2010 through 2012. The veteran southpaw went 2-0 with a 1.14 ERA (four earned runs in 31 2/3 innings) over 40 major league relief appearances with Boston in those three seasons.
Hill arrived at Red Sox spring training late this season because of the tragic death of his infant son. He could have opted out of his contract at the end of spring training because he wasn’t on the Red Sox’s major league roster, but the reliever decided to stick around.
Hill has one more opt-out date (June 30) on his current one-year deal.
