BOSTON – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – The Boston Red Sox went the veteran route to shore-up their pitching rotation and in doing so, signed left-handed pitcher Rich Hill to a one-year contract for the 2022 season. In addition, the Red Sox signed left-handed pitcher James Paxton to a one-year contract for the 2022 season, with a two-year club option for the 2023-24 seasons. In the event the club does not exercise that option following the 2022 season, Paxton would have the right to exercise a conditional player option for the 2023 season. The Red Sox’ 40-man roster is now at 39 after Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom made the additions.
Hill, 41, has pitched for 11 major league teams over 17 seasons, going 74-52 with a 3.80 ERA (479 ER/1,134.2 IP) in 324 appearances (195 starts) with the Chicago Cubs (2005-08), Baltimore Orioles (2009), Red Sox (2010-12, ’15), Cleveland Indians (2013), Los Angeles Angels (2014), New York Yankees (2014), Oakland A’s (2016), Los Angeles Dodgers (2016-19), Minnesota Twins (2020), Tampa Bay Rays (2021), and New York Mets (2021).
In 2021, Hill made 19 starts for the Rays and pitched in 13 games (12 starts) for the Mets, posting a 3.86 ERA (68 ER/158.2 IP) with 150 strikeouts, a 1.21 WHIP, and a .235 opponent batting average. In five starts against American League Postseason teams, he was 4-0 with a 1.75 ERA (5 ER/25.2 IP), having made three appearances against the Yankees, one versus the Red Sox, and one against the Houston Astros.
Born in Boston, Hill graduated from Milton High School before attending the University of Michigan. He last pitched at Fenway Park on September 25, 2015, when he threw a two-hit shutout against the Orioles, striking out 10 batters and walking one. In 25 career appearances at Fenway (one start), Hill is 2-0 with a 1.65 ERA (5 ER/27.1 IP). In 2019, he earned the Tony Conigliaro Award, presented annually by the Red Sox to a major leaguer who has overcome adversity through the attributes of spirit, determination, and courage.
Hill has made 13 Postseason appearances (12 starts) for the Cubs (2007) and Dodgers (2016-19), going 1-2 with a 3.06 ERA (18 ER/53.0 IP).
Paxton, 33, is 57-33 with a 3.59 ERA (301 ER/754.2 IP) in 137 major league appearances—all starts—with the Seattle Mariners (2013-18, ’21) and New York Yankees (2019-20). After making a career-high 29 starts and going 15-6 for the Yankees in 2019, he missed a majority of the 2020 season due to injury. In 2021, he made one start for the Mariners before undergoing Tommy John surgery on April 13 and missing the remainder of the season.
A native of Vancouver, Paxton pitched at the University of Kentucky from 2007-09 and was selected by the Mariners in the fourth round of the 2010 June Draft. He posted a sub-4.00 ERA in each of his first seven major league seasons (2013-19), including a 2.98 ERA (45 ER/136.0 IP) over 24 starts for Seattle in 2017. On May 8, 2018 at Rogers Centre, Paxton threw a no-hitter in a 5-0 win over the Blue Jays. Since the start of 2016, he has averaged 10.61 strikeouts and only 2.53 walks per 9.0 innings, having struck out 695 batters and walked 166 during that time.