Wow - Tigers sign Shawn Hill...

[eastside billee]

DETROIT -- The Detroit Tigers and right-handed starting pitcher Shawn Hill have agreed to a minor league contract.

The Tigers confirmed the move early Monday.

Toronto removed Hill from its 40-man roster in early October and the 31-year-old elected free agency, rather than outright accepting an assignment to the Blue Jays' Triple-A affiliate.

Hill should provide organizational depth for the Tigers and is expected to serve as starter depth in the upper levels of their farm system, likely in Triple-A Toledo.

Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski said in early November that the Tigers would likely seek out a starting pitcher to compete for the fifth spot if they don't re-sign free-agent right-hander Anibal Sanchez.

Hill spent most of 2012 in Triple-A Las Vegas. He went 9-2 with a 4.52 ERA and a 52:22 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 15 starts.

He appeared in one game for the Blue Jays, earning a win after tossing three shutout innings of relief against the Yankees on Sept. 29. It was his first win in the majors since 2010.

In parts of six major league seasons, the 6-foot-2 Hill is 9-18 overall with a 4.74 ERA in 44 starts with Montreal (2004), Washington (2006-2008), San Diego (2009) and Toronto (2010).

Detroit Tigers sign former Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Shawn Hill to minor league contract | MLive.com

[Yoda]

World Series, here we come.

[sabretooth]

Over 30? Check.
Over 4.50 ERA? Check.
Under 6 K/9? Check.
No secondary pitch? Check.

Sounds like he'll be due about 10 horrible starts for us this year. Perfect fit for the Tigers.

[FloridaTigers]

Congratulations to the Detroit Tigers, 2013 AL Champions!

[RatkoVarda]

the Tigers probabaly need to sign 2 more guys at his level.

The Toledo rotation is Crosby, Wilk, Hill and, who?

Brooks Brown? Zack Miner? Jeremy Bonderman?

[alwaysthrowheat]

I guess this takes the Tigers out of the running for Sanchez.

[Antrat]

Congratulations to the Minnesota Twins, 2013 AL Champions!

FTFY

[pyrotigers]

Cool, we signed future Rick Porcello

[RedRamage]

Hey, Shaun Hill has been a very capable backup for the Lions. If it worked for them, why not for the Tigers? (Unfortunately, Jackson already wears number 14, so the two Hills will have different numbers. 41 is open and is actually a number he's used in the past.

[RedRamage]

And let's not get too worked up about this. From the story:

"Hill should provide organizational depth for the Tigers and is expected to serve as starter depth in the upper levels of their farm system, likely in Triple-A Toledo."

This just a fill-out the roster move.

[catswithbats]

Minor League filler, oh nooo.

[KleShreen]

Not gonna lie, I actually like Shawn Hill. His last non-injury riddled season was in 2007 when he was basically serving as the ace of the Nationals staff. Even that season, he still had some injury issues. But he put up a 3.42 ERA in 16 starts with 65 K in 97.1 IP and a 1.14 WHIP. A good control guy, at least. Even in 2010 with Toronto he did well in his four starts (2.61 ERA in 20.1 IP, 14 K, 1.35 WHIP).

Low risk, moderately high reward IMO, no matter what level he is pitching at.

[gzbach]

the Tigers probabaly need to sign 2 more guys at his level.

The Toledo rotation is Crosby, Wilk, Hill and, who?

Brooks Brown? Zack Miner? Jeremy Bonderman?

Probably Below and Carlos Monasterios (another recently-signed filler in the category of Hill).

By the way, Brown and Miner are no longer with the organization.

[ROMAD1]

It would be nice if Toledo didn't implode again this year as well. Or then again...I don't care.

[gzbach]

It would be nice if Toledo didn't implode again this year as well. Or then again...I don't care.

We don't believe you when you say you don't care. But the reality of the situation has to be acknowledged. Crosby will likely be the ONLY real SP prospect at Toledo or Erie next season. There probably won't even be much at Lakeland to get excited about (Verhagen? Collier?). The Tigers are in Win Now mode, and so can't restock with prospects as rebuilding teams can (by trading their stars away).

So it ain't pretty, but I still care.

[T.O. Tiger Fan]

Pretty funny story about his call up this past September with the Blue Jays. He actually pitched a game for Canada in the WBC Qualifier held in Germany, flew home to Canada for a wedding, and found out at the wedding he was getting called up. Because he anticipated flying back to Germany for the tourney finale, all his gear was still over there when he got the call up and he had to borrow a glove and spikes.

Shawn Hill caught off guard by Toronto Blue Jays return | MLB | Sports | National Post

[Vonlenska]

Not gonna lie, I actually like Shawn Hill. His last non-injury riddled season was in 2007 when he was basically serving as the ace of the Nationals staff. Even that season, he still had some injury issues. But he put up a 3.42 ERA in 16 starts with 65 K in 97.1 IP and a 1.14 WHIP. A good control guy, at least. Even in 2010 with Toronto he did well in his four starts (2.61 ERA in 20.1 IP, 14 K, 1.35 WHIP).

Low risk, moderately high reward IMO, no matter what level he is pitching at.

so you like a guy because he had a decent 97 ip

this guy is the quintessential AAA starter. Doesn't strike anyone out, respectable walk rates, and he's only pitched 35 innings in the majors since 2008

[gzbach]

I'm sure nobody in the Tigers' organization thinks he will ever pitch in Detroit. He's just a replacement for Brown/Miner/Weber/Avery/Segovia/DeLaCruz etc. (And then on the other hand, there's always "lighting in a bottle".)

[vannzee]

He used to be a ground ball machine. Injuries have set him back, if not for those he would likely be a solid 4th or 5th starter by now in the bigs but after the injurys, I don't want to see him leaving Toledo.

Also, ex-Tiger farmhand Zach Simons signed with Texas on a minor league deal.