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SF Giants among five teams reportedly interested in funky reliever

Every bullpen needs one
ByJeff Young
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Jul 12, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; New York Yankees pitcher Tim Hill (41) pitches in the sixth inning against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Sabau-Imagn Images
Jul 12, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; New York Yankees pitcher Tim Hill (41) pitches in the sixth inning against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Sabau-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The SF Giants could use a lot of help from the left side of the bullpen and have their sights set on a funky reliever. Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports that they are one of five teams to express interest in veteran bullpen arm Tim Hill.

Heyman lists the New York Yankees, New York Mets, Cleveland Guardians, and Los Angeles Dodgers as the other four teams. In particular, the Guardians seem to invent relievers out of thin air, so this feels like a good sign that the Giants are on the right path.

As currently constructed, Sam Hentges is the No. 1 left-handed option in the Giants' bullpen. César Perdomo and Matt Wilkinson have been stretched out as starters, but either one could shift to the bullpen in 2027.

Carson Whisenhunt is the only other left-handed option on the 40-man roster, but he is expected to miss most, if not all, of next season after undergoing Tommy John surgery.

SF Giants target Tim Hill is coming off a down year, but the stuff remains strong

The Giants need to rebuild their depth chart. They may only bring in one more southpaw reliever on a guaranteed deal, but they should be active in minor league free agency to add depth to that unit. Perhaps, bringing back Matt Gage and signing Sam Moll to non-roster deals would make sense.

In the meantime, Tim Hill could be a popular bullpen target, despite coming off a down season. He has one of the most unique arm slots among all free-agent relievers, as he has one of the lowest release points in baseball.

Every bullpen needs variance in terms of arm slot and stuff. However, the Giants' bullpen had very little of that, as many of their relievers threw from a similar three-quarters arm slot with a sinker-slider pitch mix.

Hill's pitch mix is not all that different. He leans heavily on a sinker and slider, but he will throw an occasional four-seamer as well.

This leads to a lot of ground balls. The 2026 season was no different, as he posted a 68.8 percent ground ball rate. The rest of the numbers were not quite as strong. He struggled to a 4.60 ERA in 67 appearances for the Yankees. This was due in large part to an unusually high 1.84 HR/9 rate.

That said, Hill is a strike-thrower and his stuff still grades out favorably. In fact, he posted a 127 Stuff+ in 2026, which was tied for fourth among all pitchers with at least 50 innings completed.

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