Rangers Sign another Sensational Star Outfielder from San Diego Padres as Deal was set to be official in due course
The Texas Rangers have signed outfielder Derek Hill to a minor league contract, reports Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News (X link). He’ll head back to Triple-A Round Rock after electing free agency earlier in the week.
Hill first signed a minor league contract over the offseason and was selected onto the MLB roster at the end of May. He appeared in five games, including a pair of starts in right field. He went 2-9 with a walk and a stolen base in what marked his fifth year logging MLB time. Texas designated Hill for assignment a week ago; he cleared outright waivers on Tuesday.
A first-round pick of the Tigers in 2014, Hill played sporadically with Detroit. He combined for a .240/.291/.339 line in 95 games over parts of three seasons. Hill made a brief appearance with the Nationals a year ago, appearing in 13 games between late June and the early part of July. He’s a plus runner who can play all three outfield positions. He has never provided much in the batter’s box against MLB pitching though.
To his credit, the 28-year-old has been a productive Triple-A hitter. Hill owns a .295/.354/.502 slash in nearly 900 trips at the top minor league level. That includes a robust .333/.387/.659 showing over 142 plate appearances with Round Rock this season. Hill’s 6.3% walk percentage and near-25% strikeout rate were pedestrian, but he connected on eight homers, four triples and 10 doubles (albeit in a hitter-friendly setting).
“It’s definitely a good feeling from that far out there to see an out call,” Semien said. “That’s what outfielders talk about. Seeing it all unfold from so far away is a good feeling, especially the last out of the game.” The Rangers are set to send right-hander Michael Lorenzen (3-3, 3.05 ERA) to the mound. Over his past five starts, Lorenzen has a 1.50 ERA. The Southern California native has a 5.91 ERA in eight career relief appearances against the Dodgers. With his legs getting healthy after a recent hamstring injury, Ohtani appears ready to spring toward another productive run of offense for the Dodgers
During a 10-game stretch from May 22-June 4, Ohtani batted .175 with one home run as the Dodgers went 4-6 with their star in the lineup. Ohtani sat out the second game of a doubleheader against the Mets on May 28 to give his hamstring a rest. Ohtani now has three home runs over his past seven games after hitting one Wednesday. He enters with home runs in consecutive games for the first time since a three-game run May 4-6 when he hit four total homers. “He’s just controlling the strike zone better and when he does that, he’s the best hitter on the planet,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “That was a ball that was kind of right at his thigh and he took a really good swing at it (for the home run).”
