Rays Trade Pitcher Rich Hill To The Mets

ST. PETERSBURG, FL —The Tampa Bay Rays traded starting pitcher Rich Hill to the New York Mets Friday in exchange for minor league catcher Matt Dyer and relief pitcher Tommy Hunter, MLB sources reported.

The trade of the 41-year-old lefty Hill comes less than 24 hours after the Rays acquired 41-year-old slugger Nelson Cruz in a trade from the Twins and a week before the July 30 MLB trade deadline.

Hill, who signed as a free agent with the Rays this past February, had been solid for Tampa Bay, especially early in the season. In 2021, Hill is 6-4 with a 3.87 ERA in 19 starts, though his ERA is 5.40 in his past seven starts. He has struck out 91 batters in 95.3 innings. Hill had been scheduled to pitch for the Rays on Saturday.

According to Anthony DiComo, who covers the Mets for MLB.com, the Rays likely believed Hill was expendable because they recently added righty Luis Patiño, who started Thursday against Cleveland, and soon expect to get back righty Chris Archer, who is rehabbing a forearm injury at Triple-A Durham.

Dyer, one of the players acquired by the Rays, is a 23-year-old catcher who was the Mets' fourth-round draft pick in 2020 out of University of Arizona. He currently is playing at Class A St. Lucie,

Hunter, meanwhile, is a 34-year-old right-handed reliever, who actually pitched in Tampa in 2017. He made four appearances for the Mets early in the season, but has been out since mid-May with a back injury. He was shifted to the 60-day injured list in June.

New York Post Mets reporter Mike Puma tweeted on Tuesday that Hunter may not pitch again this season.

With Hunter scheduled to be a free agent this offseason, CBSSports.com suggested Hunter "is presumably included in the deal largely as a salary dump."