Rich Hill designated for assignment by Red Sox after four outings

Hill struggled in his two most recent bullpen outings for the Red Sox.

The Rich Hill experiment appears to be over for the Red Sox.

Hill was designated for assignment by Boston in order to make room for pitcher Luis Guerrero on the active roster on Friday.

The 44-year-old Hill recently began his fourth stint with the Red Sox. After sitting out the first few months of the 2024 season in order to coach his son’s Little League team, Hill signed with Boston on Aug. 18. He signed a minor league contract, spending just over a week with Triple-A Worcester before getting called up on Aug. 27.

Hill, who’s been a starting pitcher for the majority of his 20-year MLB career, was exclusively used as a reliever during his brief stint with the Red Sox. He had a 4.91 ERA over four outings, but struggled in his two most recent appearances. He gave up two runs in just 2/3 of an inning in a 4-1 loss to the Tigers on Sunday.

Hill’s struggles continued in his outing on Wednesday. He wasn’t charged with a run, but he walked in two runs with the bases loaded and gave up a third run on a sacrifice fly after relieving Kenley Jansen in an 8-3 loss to the Mets. His day ended after the sacrifice fly, pitching just 1/3 of an inning.

It was uncertain if Hill would plan to step away from the game for good after the 2024 season. He could still pitch in the minors for the Red Sox or sign with another team.

If Wednesday was his final outing, he would end his career with a 90-74 record and a 4.01 ERA. He’s one of the few starting pitchers in recent years to record an outing after turning 40, pitching for 13 teams over his career. The Milton native had his first stint with the Red Sox from 2010-12 before rejoining the team for the 2015 and 2022 seasons.

As for Guerrero, he’s a 24-year-old right-handed pitcher who’s impressed as a reliever with Triple-A Worcester this season. He’s 5-3 with a 3.31 ERA, 79 strikeouts, and a 1.31 WHIP in 54 1/3 innings over 42 outings. Guerrero was selected by the Red Sox in the 17th round of the 2021 MLB Draft.

Boston’s bullpen could certainly use a spark. It has a league-worst 6.77 ERA since Aug. 9 and is arguably the biggest reason why it’s slipped in the playoff race recently.