NEW YORK — Left-handed reliever Tim Hill and the Yankees agreed Sunday to a one-year, $2.25 million contract with a $2.5 million club option for 2028, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported. The agreement brings the 36-year-old back for a fourth season with New York.
Hill earned $3 million in 2026 after the Yankees exercised his previous club option. His new guaranteed annual salary is $750,000 lower, a 25% reduction, before accounting for any terms not disclosed in the initial report.
The lower cost matters because Hill is no longer coming off his strongest Yankees season. He went 5-2 with a 4.60 ERA in 67 appearances in 2026, recording 25 strikeouts over 58 2/3 innings. A year earlier, he posted a 3.09 ERA in 70 games.
Hill surrendered a career-high 12 home runs in 2026. That was a particularly troubling result for a pitcher whose value rests on keeping the ball on the ground and limiting hard contact.
Unusual Tim Hill split explains both the appeal and the risk
Hill’s 2026 numbers create a striking contrast. He struck out only 3.8 batters per nine innings, yet his 68.9% ground-ball rate led qualified major league pitchers, according to MLB’s free-agent reporting. He remained difficult for left-handed hitters, holding them to a .213 batting average.
That combination makes him unusual rather than interchangeable. Hill can be valuable when Boone needs a ground ball or a difficult matchup for a left-handed batter. But his low strikeout rate leaves fewer ways to escape an inning when runners reach base.
The home-run total sharpens the Yankees concern. Twelve homers in 58 2/3 innings translates to approximately 1.84 per nine innings. That is a poor trade-off for a pitcher expected to avoid damaging contact. It also helps explain why a strong ground-ball percentage did not translate into a strong overall ERA.
The three-batter minimum further complicates deployment. Boone cannot routinely summon Hill to face one left-handed hitter and then immediately remove him. His use against right-handed bats and in longer assignments will matter as much as his success against lefties.
Hill’s agreement removes one name from the Yankees’ free-agent list. Bednar’s qualifying-offer deadline and the continuing search for high-leverage relief help remain the immediate tests of Cashman’s bullpen reconstruction.
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