Rich Hill Reacts To Rejoining Red Sox In Fourth MLB Stint With Boston

Rich Hill will officially don a Red Sox uniform again after last pitching for Boston in 2022. The lefty was promoted from Triple-A Worcester on Tuesday after signing a minor league contract with the club on Aug. 16.

The 44-year-old veteran spent most of his summer coaching his son's travel baseball team while continuing to prepare for a return to baseball.

"The challenge ahead is to go out there and continue to put in the time and the effort, the work," Hill told reporters at Fenway Park. "Go out there and compete and make pitches and get outs."

Hill added: "You just got to be ready for the opportunity. I think that's the biggest thing, staying ready and understanding that preparation and opportunity come together. Continuing to put in the time and the effort again, as I did this summer, even prior to the summer, starting to throw and work out and be ready for whatever was around the corner. Just putting myself in the best position possible."

This marks Hill's fourth stint with the Red Sox. He previously pitched for Boston in 2010-12, 2015, and 2022, logging a 3.31 ERA and a 12-8 record across 185 innings.

The Milton, Mass. native spent the offseason training with former St. Anslem catcher Jason Turner.

"We were able to work together the entire summer," Hill said. "It was great. Kind of the perfect opportunity for both of us to continue to work throughout the summer and stay on the same schedule and continue to keep throwing every single day, for the most part."

Hill said working with Turner allowed him to work on progressing from catch to long toss to bullpens and graduating to facing batters. He tossed two scoreless innings, striking out two in one appearance with the Woo Sox before being activated by the Red Sox. He said he felt different this time around.

"I think just a different perspective," he said. "As time goes on, you just have more experience. Experience is an incredible teacher. I think that's something that, in that experience, you gain many different avenues of perspective, such as patience and time and the understanding of time.

"The perspective that I've gained is just the experience over time and being able to understand that this is such a long process. Such a long journey, that the details are in the work and enjoying the work. And that's something like here today. I know there's a tough stretch that's going on here (with the ball club), but we got today. It's exciting."