Dodgers: It’s Time to Transition Rich Hill to the Bullpen

The Dodgers and Rich Hill seemed to figure out Hill’s blister problems last season but this year it appears to be an issue once again.  On Saturday Hill was removed after two pitches due to more blister issues.

The Dodgers have once again been struck with the injury bug and this time it’s a familiar injury.  Rich Hill is struggling once again with blister issues.  Saturday in game two of the doubleheader, the Dodgers were put in an awful spot as the bullpen had to pitch nine innings.  Luckily the Dodgers won in nine innings, but it’s clear that Rich Hill is on the downside of his career.

Not only is Rich Hill dealing with a bad blister, he is also pitching against father time.  Hill is now thirty-eight years old and it’s unreasonable to expect 180-200 innings out of him anymore.  This season Hill’s numbers are pretty horrific.  Hill has a 6.20 ERA to go with a 1.74 WHIP and an opponent’s batting average of .303 which is exactly 100 points higher than last season.  Hill is allowing ten hits per nine innings, and walking four batters per nine innings.

It’s time for the Dodgers to transition Rich Hill into a relief role.  The Dodgers cannot afford to keep starting Hill and taking him out after a few innings due to injuries or poor performance.  Hill has spent most of his career as a reliever so it’s not a role that he is unfamiliar with.  If Hill were to get pulled while he was in as a reliever then it wouldn’t tax the bullpen but the way he has been limited has been a burden on an already overworked bullpen.

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The other side of this is that the Dodgers struggling bullpen could get a boost from Rich Hill.  While Kenta Maeda has performed better as a reliever, his contract is heavily based on starting pitcher incentives so moving him to the pen would be wrong unless the Dodgers changed his incentives.  Rich Hill has a guaranteed contract so he would not lose money pitching of the bullpen.

Hill could be a pretty effective reliever who is capable of getting left-handed and right-handed hitters out.  Hill’s curve would play up to lefties out of the bullpen and his 89-90 mile per hour fastball would be good enough to get righties out in the later innings.  This would be the ideal role for Hill at this stage of his career and it could potentially bolster the weakest spot on the Dodgers roster.

Another reason that the Dodgers can afford to move Rich Hill to the bullpen is Ross Stripling.  In his last three starts, Stripling has really gotten into his zone as a starting pitcher and he originally was a starting pitcher so it’s time to leave Chicken Strip in his natural role.   Stripling and Buehler are giving the Dodger rotation a very nice boost and they can be relied on to go at least five to six innings a start.

Next: Dodgers Quick Hits: Goeddel, Stripling, and Roster Moves

The Dodgers owe Rich Hill approximately 18 million next season and it’s unclear how many starts Hill will be able to make without the reoccurrence of his blisters or another injury popping up since Rich will be thirty-nine years old next season.  It’s time for the Dodgers rotation to get younger and less injury prone and that begins with Rich Hill.  If Hill is a team player he will do the right thing and accept the bullpen switch without causing a commotion.  Him continuing to try and pitch through blisters is only going to keep the Dodgers’ rotation in a constant flux.