Phillies: 3 Ways the Rich Hill Trade Impacts the NL East

While we wait to find out if the Philadelphia Phillies will reunite with Cole Hamels, trade for Craig Kimbrel, or do something totally unexpected, other teams are beginning to make moves.

On Thursday, the Tampa Bay Rays acquired veteran slugger Nelson Cruz from the Minnesota Twins. Then, on Friday, they traded veteran pitcher Rich Hill to the New York Mets.

Currently in his 17th (!!!) MLB season, the 41-year-old lefty made his debut as a Chicago Cub back in June 2005. Since then, he’s pitched for the Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Cleveland soon-to-be Guardians, Los Angeles Angels, New York Yankees, Red Sox again, Oakland A’s, Los Angeles Dodgers, Minnesota Twins, and Tampa Bay Rays. Now, he’ll add the Mets to his impressive resumé.

Hill had a very solid half-season for the Rays, posting a 3.87 ERA over 19 starts. He’s struck out 91 batters over 94 1/3 innings so far this year. His walks per inning rate is vastly improved from last season; in 2020, he walked 17 batters over 38 2/3 innings but has only walked 36 batters over 95 1/3 innings this season.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but this trade is bad news for the rest of the NL East, and more specifically, the Phillies.

Here’s how the Rich Hill trade impacts the Philadelphia Phillies:

1. One less pitcher on the market 

This one’s fairly obvious, but there are a lot of teams looking to upgrade pitching at the deadline, and Hill finding a home in Queens means one less option for the Phillies.

The Phillies are reportedly interested in anyone and everyone, but especially pitchers who can bolster both their rotation and bullpen. Hill, with his lengthy resumé and postseason experience, would have been a great fit for the club.

2. Hill has ample postseason experience

Currently in first place in the NL East, the Mets are looking to bolster their rotation and lineup with Jacob deGrom and Francisco Lindor both injured. Hill could sub into the rotation for the time being, and the Mets are rumored to be interested in Rockies shortstop Trevor Story as a short-term rental replacement for Lindor.

In acquiring Hill, the Mets have added a pitcher with 53 innings of October experience to their roster. Over 13 postseason games, he has a 3.06 ERA with 65 strikeouts. As a Cub, he pitched in the 2007 NLDS for the Cubs, then as a Dodger, he pitched in the postseason each year between 2016-2019.

Hill has never pitched for a World Series champion team, but he did some of his best postseason pitching in the three World Series games he started between the 2017 and 2018 series.The Phillies are attempting to reach the postseason for the first time since their 2011 division title season. Hill’s experience might prove invaluable to the Mets when the time comes.

3. Hill has been solid against the Phillies throughout his career

Phillies teams have only faced Hill in eight games over his career, which is pretty crazy when you remember that he’s been pitching in the Majors for almost two decades. But Hill has been solid over those eight appearances, posting a 3.48 ERA over 21 innings, with 32 strikeouts.

Phillies batters hit .222/.331/.427 with a .758 OPS against Hill, with nine doubles, five home runs, and five stolen bases.

The Phillies host the Mets in two weeks for a weekend series. Maybe they’ll line up against the newest NL East arm for the first time.