Tim Hill

Tim Hill throws from so far to the side that left-handed hitters might think the ball is coming from the first base dugout. The sidearm lefty is a ground-ball machine who held left-handed batters to a .181 average in 2025 -- and the New York Yankees got him on a bargain one-year deal after the White Sox released him the previous summer. Sometimes the best signings are the ones nobody talks about.

Path to the Bronx

Hill took the long way to pro ball. He went undrafted out of high school in Granada Hills, California, attended Palomar College for a year, then transferred to Bacone College in Oklahoma, where he went 10-2 with a 1.89 ERA as a senior. The Royals drafted him in the 32nd round of the 2014 draft -- about as low as you can go -- and he debuted with Kansas City in 2018.

The Royals traded him to San Diego in 2020 for Franchy Cordero and Ronald Bolanos. He spent four seasons with the Padres, posting 26 holds and a 3.59 ERA across 133 outings in 2021-22. The Padres non-tendered him after 2023, the White Sox signed him and then released him in June 2024, and he sat on the market until the Yankees picked him up on a one-year, $2.85 million deal in February 2025.

Yankees Career

Hill had the best season of his career in 2025. He appeared in 70 games -- among the most on the staff -- posted a 3.09 ERA across 67 innings, and generated ground balls at a 63.7 percent clip. Left-handed hitters were basically helpless against him: .181/.224/.220. That sidearm sinker drops into a zone where lefties can't do anything but beat the ball into the dirt.

The Yankees liked him so much they picked up his $3 million club option for 2026 before he even had time to test free agency.

Key Moments

The Role

Hill is the lefty specialist who also happens to be durable enough to pitch every other day. In a bullpen built around power arms, his sidearm sinker offers a completely different look -- and managers love having that option. He's not the closer, but he's the guy who comes in to get the lefty in the six-hole or to induce a double play with runners on. He does that better than almost anyone in the league.

The delivery is what makes everything work. Hill's arm slot sits so low that his release point is practically at his hip -- hitters describe it as trying to pick up the ball out of the dirt. For left-handed batters, the sinker starts behind them and dives back over the inside corner. Good luck squaring that up. Right-handed hitters have an easier time seeing the ball (the .181 average was against lefties; righties fared better), but they still can't elevate it. That 63.7 percent ground-ball rate means even when hitters make contact, they're pounding the ball into the infield. Double plays. Weak grounders to short. Exactly what you want from a guy pitching the sixth or seventh inning with men on base.

Four organizations in 11 years sounds like a journeyman's resume, and that's because it is. But Hill turned that experience into an advantage. He learned how to pitch in Kansas City, refined his approach in San Diego, survived being non-tendered and released, and arrived in the Bronx with nothing left to prove. That's a dangerous combination for a reliever. Guys who've been cut, waived, and written off tend to pitch with a chip on their shoulder. Hill pitched 70 games in 2025 -- you don't do that without wanting the ball every single night.

At 35, he's playing the best baseball of his life. The 32nd-round pick from a tiny Oklahoma college is now one of the most reliable relievers in the American League. Go figure.