Cubs Clearinghouse: Rich Hill
This is a pretty fair article from Fangraphs' Marc Hulet describing the predicament the Cubs are in with out of options guys Rich Hill and Ronny Cedeno. Today they tackle Hill and tomorrow they're discussing Cedeno.
This article on Rich Hill today is just a reminder of how sweet our team would be if the 2007 Hill showed up to Spring Training.
QUOTE FROM THE ARTICLE: "Unfortunately for the Cubs, both players are also out of minor league options, which means the club has three options: 1) Keep them on the 25-man roster; 2) Trade them for other talent; 3) Expose them to waivers in an attempt to send them down to the minors. If the club chooses the third option, each player would definitely end up in other organizations with zero compensation, which really leaves the club with two options: Play or trade."
10 months ago
IowaCubs-
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Rich Hill probably gets DFA'd
He’s 29 years old, has one real pitch in the curveball and hasn’t been able to find the plate for a year. His market value is non-existent. He’ll get cut. From there the best advice would probably be to get lost for awhile and try to rediscover what he lost. If/when he does I imagine he will have little trouble getting an audition by some major league ballclub.
by BLou on Jan 19, 2009 2:14 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
He'll be traded
if for no other reason than to control where he goes. Someplace like the Royals so some other NL team doesn’t give him a minor/major deal.
by ol Pete on Jan 20, 2009 2:44 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Nobody is going to give Rich Hill a contract..not even a minor league deal
Right now Rich Hill needs to remove himself from the game for a period of time. Go off to the hinterlands either alone or with a pitching guru he would retain in last-ditch attempt to salvage a professional baseball career. If / when he is able to get himself back on track then he can get on the phone and audition for major league clubs. If / when he is able to himself back in working order then there will be teams quite willing to audition him for a minor league contract.
by BLou on Jan 20, 2009 4:14 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
i think if the cubs make a run for Peavy, that Hill gets thrown in no matter what.
There's nothing wrong with this team that more pitching, more fielding and more hitting couldn't help......"--Bill Buckner
by laidbackliam on Jan 19, 2009 2:55 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
Where is the better upside?
When it comes to Hill, I think what the Cubs need to consider is where there is more upside, in keeping Hill, the Cubs could let him play throughout spring training and perhaps something will click and he’ll recapture his control and curve ball. If not, invariably he could be DFA’d. If Hill does figure it out well then the Cubs have a starter who will be one of the better in the league.
If the Cubs are going to trade Hill, that likely has to come in the next week or so. Any team giving up anything is going to want to see Hill over the 6 weeks of spring training. A team trading for him will be in the Cubs position. The difference between Hill and Pie is that the Orioles can play Pie for several months and while he might create a hole in the line-up, he isn’t going to directly lose games for you. Hill, on the other hand, if he has no control, will lose you games. Hill can’t start the season on a major league roster if he’s still all over the place. Because of this I just don’t see the Cubs getting much for Hill.
So the question is where is the better upside for the Cubs. Unless the Cubs are dying for the roster spot I think its best to roll the dice and see which Hill shows up to spring training.
by dmlichte on Jan 19, 2009 2:56 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
If another team trades for him...
… can they send him to the minors?
"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx
by Al on Jan 19, 2009 5:35 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
No.
The same option rules apply since they are effectively attached to the contract. Thus, the only teams that might remotely be interested are non-competitive teams with holes in the rotation — SD, perhaps the Mariners?, maybe the Royals?
What could happen is that the Cubs keep Hill until the end of ST. If he shows something, they can trade him to a rebuilding team. If he doesn’t show anything, the best time to sneak a guy through outright waivers is the last week of ST when every team is making cuts.
"I've never complained about it. I'm thankful to have a jersey." Mark DeRosa, 22 Aug 2007
by DeRoMyHero on Jan 20, 2009 9:52 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
How do you determine if "he's figured it out"?
And how quickly could he lose it again like last season? I think if he does have a good spring, we trade him anyway, and if he continues his suckage, we release him.
Nobody cares about your fantasy baseball team
by carmen_fanzone on Jan 19, 2009 5:38 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
thats a fair question
And the fact is that if you look at someone like Barry Zito, there is obviously some higher risk with lefty pitchers with big sweeping curves backed up by mediocre fastballs. But if Hill comes into spring training and is throwing strikes then clearly he’s back in contention for a spot in the rotation OR, as you say, a trade candidate. It might be worth waiting to trade him in order to get anything decent in return. Of course, the thin air in AZ does not favor curve ball pitchers.
by dmlichte on Jan 19, 2009 5:48 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
There is no upside. He’s done. The grey matter between the ears is Hill’s problem. He knows he lost it, and can’t figure out where it went/
I see Hendry trying to include him in a package, and if no takers, releasing him outright.
by VFTB Matt on Jan 20, 2009 4:22 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Agreed, but I do think he will try to trade him first, rather than just outright release him.
"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx
by Al on Jan 21, 2009 7:14 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Agreed
Hill Playing winter Ball was a good and Bad thing, the bad thing is he showed no signs of improvement, every team knows this and his trade value is zero. Pie is different, in the worst case he can be a valuable 4th outfielder still with some potential. I would Roll the Dice with hill this Spring.
by NYCUB FAN on Jan 19, 2009 4:46 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
Rich Hill is D.O.N.E.
Nobody cares about your fantasy baseball team
by carmen_fanzone on Jan 19, 2009 5:35 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
Jim Hendry's quote in yesterday's Tribune;
“He had a chance and he blew it”
That pretty much says it all. I don’t remember ever hearing Hendry speak so bluntly about a player.
Hill has thrown his last pitch in a Cubs uniform (and quite possibly his last pitch as a major leagurer).
by bluekoolaide on Jan 19, 2009 7:24 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
Why would he say something like that...
unless he felt he absolutely had no trade value at all?? It doesn’t exactly bleed confidence in the guys you’re trying to let loose on another team.
Proud recipient of a hot dog shot from the Iowa Cubs hot dog gun.
by IowaCubs- on Jan 20, 2009 1:11 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Maybe
he is thinking such a bold statement will help him to clear waivers and head to AA or AAA
"I like coconuts, you can break them open and they smell like ladies lying in the sun" Widespread Panic
by Cubbie-Tim on Jan 20, 2009 2:02 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Rich Hill has zero trade value already
Jim Hendry didn’t torch Rich Hill’s trade value because none exists to begin with.
by BLou on Jan 20, 2009 4:15 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
+1
My own feeling is that Hendry’s quote was more about his frustration with Hill’s complete mental meltdown more than than any attempt to increase or decrease his trade “value”.
by bluekoolaide on Jan 20, 2009 9:38 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
This is definitely
a what have you done for me lately world. So, in spring training if Hill pitches like he did in ‘07 you better believe he’ll be on the roster one way or another.
by thehat34 on Jan 20, 2009 1:26 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
If he somehow does well in ST
We could always use another LH arm out of the bullpen.
In the minors and winter league was he still starting at all times, or have they considered moving him to the bullpen to see is that changes anything? Maybe make him a LH specialist…give him one LH batter to get out…you know, baby steps.
by BucknerKongCardenal on Jan 22, 2009 11:35 AM CST reply actions 0 recs
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