Father Time might be defeated, folks. Rich Hill, ageless wonder that he is, has resurfaced once again, signing a Minor League deal with the Kansas City Royals. Yes, the 45-year-old is back. He's expected to join Triple-A Omaha sometime soon, according to the official Royals X account.
We have signed LHP Rich Hill to a minor league contract. He will report to Surprise and is expected to join Omaha (AAA) soon.
— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) May 13, 2025
Hill was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the fourth round of the 2002 MLB Draft. He made his MLB debut with Chicago in the 2005 season. Now, if he's able to pitch in the Majors for the Royals, he will be joining his 14th (!) MLB team in his 21st (!!) MLB season. It is truly remarkable.
What's even crazier is that despite his age, there's a realistic chance Hill can contribute to the Royals at some point this season.
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Royals sign ageless wonder Rich Hill to minor league deal
LeBron James deserves an immense amount of credit for doing what he's doing at 40 years of age, but will he be playing until he's 45? Even Tom Brady had to hang up the spikes at 45. Hill is just different. Baseball is a different sport, obviously, but Hill doing what he's been doing for as long as he's been doing it is undoubtedly impressive. Again, he has a realistic shot to make it back to the majors this season.
In what role? Well, that remains to be seen. Hill's best days came as a starting pitcher, but he has plenty of experience pitching in relief. The bottom line is that teams can never have enough pitching depth.
The Royals have a strong rotation, but beyond Noah Cameron, there isn't much starting pitching depth to speak of. Perhaps Hill gets stretched out to start. The Royals also have two left-handers in their bullpen, but Angel Zerpa has struggled this season. Perhaps Hill can take his spot at some point. He allowed two runs in 3.2 innings across four relief appearances for the Boston Red Sox last season.
Regardless of the role Hill will take on with Kansas City, the fact that he even has a shot to make it back to the bigs at 45 years old is nothing short of extraordinary. MLB fans can only hope that the Royals give him that shot.