$48 Million Rich'er - Hill Stays Blue

Here is the first major news to come the Dodgers way this winter.  As you likely know by now, the Dodgers have penned starting left-handed side-armer Rich Hill to a three year/$48 million contract.  Per Ken Gurnick at MLB.com:

"I told myself I wouldn't do this," Hill said, composing himself after a long pause. "It's been an incredible journey, but I never felt like packing it all in. You fail, you learn. When you fail, you learn. I don't think you really know what failure is -- or I didn't know what failure was until I got older and understood that that was experience. Baseball teaches us to deal with things off the field that are far greater than what you deal with on the field."

Per Eric Stephen at True Blue LA:

"There are going to be down times, or times of failure. But being consistent in your routine, meaning staying in the moment every single day and knowing what I want to do before I get to the field, that's part of everything seamless and consistent,” Hill said. “That consistency is what builds championships, and that's where winning comes from, to me. That's being in the moment to me.”
...
“The wins and losses will come and go, but your consistency of your effort cannot change. It's something I have learned over my entire career, but it has definitely become more pertinent in the last few years.”

President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said the following:

"We spent a tremendous amount time digging into the guy's makeup, the type of competitor and type of teammate he was, and everything we got back was off the charts," Friedman said. "But being around for three months, he exceeded even our expectations. That gave us the confidence to bet on him, what he's persevered through in his career. The type of person and competitor fit us very well, and he was a huge priority for us."

He far exceeded my expectations too.

Per a AP report, Hill receives a $2 million signing bonus, $12 million for the 2017 season, $16 million in 2018 and $18 million in 2019.

In celebration of Hill's return to the Dodgers I made the above three fantasy Baseball cards featuring photos grabbed from Jon SooHoo and Jill Weisleder (link here).

Per a Dodgers press release:

The Los Angeles Dodgers today announced the signing of free agent left-handed pitcher Rich Hill to a three-year contract.

Hill and Dodger President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman will be available to the media at 2:00 p.m. ET in the Woodrow Wilson Ballroom at Major League Baseball’s Winter Meetings at the Gaylord National Hotel in National Harbor, Maryland.

Hill, 36, was originally acquired by the Dodgers in a five-player trade with the Athletics on Aug. 1 and went 3-2 with a 1.83 ERA in six starts with Los Angeles. In three postseason starts for the Dodgers, he posted a 1-1 record with a 3.46 ERA (5 ER/13.0 IP), including firing 6.0 scoreless innings to pick up the win in NLCS Game 3 vs. the Cubs.

Overall, Hill went 12-5 with a 2.12 ERA in 20 starts with Los Angeles and Oakland last year, ranking among the Majors’ best (min. 100.0 IP) in ERA (2nd, behind only Clayton Kershaw, 1.69), opponents’ batting average (.195, 3rd) and WHIP (1.00, 5th) despite being limited by a blister and groin injury.

Hill has a 38-28 career record with a 4.10 ERA in 221 games (94 starts) in 12 MLB seasons with the Cubs (2005-08), Orioles (2009), Red Sox (2010-12, ‘15), Indians (2012), Angels (2014), Yankees (2014), Athletics (2016) and Dodgers (2016) after being selected in the fourth round of the 2002 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Michigan.

The Dodgers have 40 players on their 40-man roster.

* Please follow on twitter @ernestreyes *

* Like Dodgers Blue Heaven on facebook *

* Dodgers Blue Heaven home page *