The St. Louis Cardinals signed former Cubs pitcher Rich Hill, he will be one of 17 non-roster invites to spring training. Had one good year with the Cubs, but was shipped to Baltimore. His last start with the Cubs came in April of 2008 at Busch Stadium where he walked four batters and never made it out of the first inning.
Hill went 11-8 in 2007 when the Cubs won the first of two National League Central Division titles. Hill was a surprise to the Cubs rotation that season that featured guys like Carlos Zambrano and Ted Lilly. Hill’s demise started in game three of the NLDS when he gave up a first inning home run against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
His confidence never recovered from that loss and it spilled over into that 2008 loss at St. Louis. The Cubs then shipped Hill off to Baltimore.
The Royals also added some players to their roster. Signing left-handed pitchers Dusty Hughes and Edgar Osuna, right-handed pitcher Blake Wood and catcher Manny Piña.
Hughes and Wood were within the Royals’ system last year. Hughes was 3-3 with a 3.50 ERA in 34 games (11 starts) for Omaha (AAA) last season and represented the O-Royals at the Triple-A All-Star Game. Wood had a a 2-8 record and a 5.83 ERA in 17 appearances (13 starts) with Northwest Arkansas (AA) last season. He also made three rehab appearances with the Surprise Royals (R).
