Prior to facing the Colorado Rockies in the opener of a six-game road trip, the Los Angeles Dodgers placed Rich Hill on the 10-day disabled list due to a blister on his left middle finger, and recalled Josh Fields from Triple-A Oklahoma City.
Hill’s DL stint is retroactive to Thursday, April 6. He threw 75 pitches over five innings, and allowed one run on two hits and had five strikeouts against the San Diego Padres. He was hit by a pitch on his right wrist and sent for x-rays, which came back negative.
Hill maintained during the offseason and throughout Spring Training that last year’s blister issues were well behind him. Hill didn’t debut with the Dodgers in 2016 until one month after being acquired from the Oakland Athletics because of persisting blisters.
The 37-year-old was next scheduled to start on Monday, April 10, against the Chicago Cubs in their home opener. He won’t be eligible to come off the DL until Sunday, April 16. Though, with an off-day Tuesday, Hill could miss just the one start.
Fields’ addition to the roster gives the Dodgers eight relievers for their three-game set at Coors Field. Fields went 1–0 with a 2.79 ERA in 22 relief appearances with the Dodgers last season.
Including time spent with the Houston Astros in 2016, he yielded a 4.63 ERA, 3.26 FIP and 1.54 WHIP over 37 games. Fields threw 2.1 shutout innings in four playoff games with the Dodgers.
During the spring, he pitched to 9.72 ERA in nine games. However, Fields overcame a slow start, got back to his usual velocity, and concluded Spring Training with four consecutive scoreless appearances (4.1 innings).
He avoided arbitration during the offseason by agreeing to a one-year, $1.05 million contract.
