The Los Angeles Dodgers waited five weeks last season for Rich Hill to make his debut with the team after being acquired in a trade with the Oakland Athletics. Now two weeks into the 2017 season, Los Angeles is awaits a return on their three-year, $48 million investment.
Hill was reinstated from the 10-day disabled list on Sunday, only to pitch a mere three innings. The same blister that sidelined him last year and again this season, cropped up. “In the middle of the game it started cracking a little bit,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “So that brought a red flag to our head trainer.
“It just made sense to get [Hill] out of the game. Once we went through the process of removing the preventative ointment, there was some old, dry skin that came off during the outing. How bad is it? Better than we expected, but there is some irritation to the new skin.”
Roberts added a decision is expected Monday on whether or not the team will again place Hill on the disabled list. With Alex Wood helping offset a short outing from Kenta Maeda on Saturday, it was Ross Stripling’s turn Sunday afternoon.
“The most frustrating part is coming out and the bullpen being used again heavily,” Hill said. “That’s what’s frustrating most for me. To not go out there and produce, and tax the bullpen, I take responsibility for that.”
While the 37-year-old was ultimately unable to continue pitching, he first noticed trouble with the blister on his left middle finger during his at-bat in the second inning.
“It’s something that just hasn’t gone away,” Hill said. “I don’t know what to tell you, really. I’m not 100 percent sure if there’s anything else that we haven’t uncovered. Maybe with super glue or something like that.
“I’d love to figure out something. All joking aside, if there’s a medical miracle out there, that would be great.”
Roberts conceded there’s frustration for all parties involved, and was seemingly at a loss on what steps the Dodgers could take. “There’s been times where it reoccured during the day, at night, at sea level, above sea level,” Roberts said. “The number of pitches, we don’t know.”
Hill is open to potentially pitching out of the bullpen, which is a role he last held to a significant extent for the Cleveland Indians in 2013. He made 14 combined relief appearances during time spent with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and New York Yankees the following season.
Like Roberts, Hill was flummoxed by the recurring trouble. “I can’t believe I’m standing here talking about a blister,” he said.
