San Diego Padres: Rich Hill move shows just how south the 2023 season went

With reports surfacing that the San Diego Padres placed veteran southpaw Rich Hill on waivers, it's another reminder of just how almost every move made by the Friars in 2023 seemed to have backfired in one way or another.

San Diego Padres: Rich Hill move another reminder of disappointing season

Friars fans of course will remember that Hill was acquired at the MLB trade deadline from the Pittsburgh Pirates in an effort to boost the rotation that was ravaged with injuries and needed some stability. Hill, however, wasn't able to do much at all to help San Diego, posting a 9.27 ERA in 22.1 innings of work. His ERA+ of 45 over the course of seven games (including five starts) was dismal at best.

Perhaps Hill's numbers are one of the perfect wrap-ups for the 2023 season. He was brought in from Pittsburgh at a time when San Diego's hopes for the postseason were on an upward swing. After days of debate on whether the team would be a buyer at the MLB trade deadline, a timely sweep of the Texas Rangers (who have also fallen in the standings) pointed toward A.J. Preller bringing in reinforcements to help the Padres, including Hill. However, the 43-year-old Immaculate Grid cheat code never found his footing in San Diego. As he slipped, so did San Diego's hopes of actually making a postseason run.

Hill's waiver report on the same day that Yu Darvish was shut down for the rest of the season because of a stress reacton in his elbow put a nasty bow on San Diego's pitching situation in 2023. Blake Snell is on his way to very much being in the mix for the NL Cy Young Award. Outside of that, inconsistency has reigned on the mound.

That's something that will have to change in 2024. Darvish will be back to hopefully be a part of the solution. Hill, however, will not, putting a quick end to an experiment that fizzled for the Padres ... much like a lot of other things this season.