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The Kansas City Royals should be sellers at the MLB trade deadline. They are well out of the AL Central, which is currently dominated by the Detroit Tigers, and stuck in a crowded AL Wild Card race. That could include trading Seth Lugo, who finished second in Cy Young voting last year. The Royals made a move to improve their pitching by calling up Rich Hill on Monday, which also made some history.
“Veteran left-hander Rich Hill is expected to return to the majors with the Kansas City Royals and could pitch as early as Tuesday, sources say,” Robert Murray of FanSided reported. “Hill, 45, becomes the oldest active player in baseball. Hill signed a minor-league contract with the Royals in mid-May and was quickly promoted to Triple-A.”
The Royals will be the 14th team Hill plays for in his MLB career. That ties Edwin Jackson for the most in MLB history, according to Jomboy Media's Talkin' Baseball. He last pitched in 2024 with the Boston Red Sox, his sixth season in his hometown. The Dodgers and Cubs are the only teams he has spent more than one season with, four apiece.
Hill immediately becomes the oldest player in Major League Baseball, but he can help get the Royals through the season. If they trade Lugo and do not want to burn a year of a prospect's contract, they can use Hill. He has a career ERA of 4.01 with 90 wins in 386 appearances.
Hill signed with the Royals back in May and has been performing well in the minor leagues ever since. In nine starts with AAA Omaha, he has pitched 42 innings and allowed 25 earned runs for a 5.36 ERA. If he can put together a few nice starts for Kansas City this year, it could be a great end to his career. He, of course, could be back with Team 15 at 46 years old and no one would be surprised.
