Yankees Reportedly Pick Up Tim Hill's $3M Contract Option for 2026 MLB Season

The New York Yankees are bringing back a key member of the bullpen next season.

The Yankees are picking up reliever Tim Hill's $3 million option for 2026, ESPN's Jorge Castillo reported Wednesday.

Castillo added the Yankees will not pick up Jonathan Loaisiga's $5 million team option for next season.

Hill, who first arrived in the Bronx after his release by the Chicago White Sox midway through the 2024 season, would have been owed a $350,000 buyout had the Yankees declined his option.

After watching Hill post a 2.05 ERA through 35 appearances and 44 innings pitched in 2024, the Yankees signed Hill to a one-year, $2.5 million deal with the club option for 2026.

He then led the Yankees' bullpen with 70 appearances and 67 innings pitched while posting a 3.09 ERA and 1.104 WHIP in 2025.

In the 2025 postseason, Hill held opponents to just one hit and no runs in three appearances. He recorded a win in Game 3 of the ALDS, during which he threw 11 strikes on 16 pitches to make it through 1.1 hitless innings.

Hill finished the season with a 64.2 ground ball rate, good for 99th percentile in MLB, according to Baseball Savant.

The southpaw was particularly effective against left-handed batters, whom he held to a .181/.282/.328 slash line in 2025, per Baseball Reference.

That proved to be key for the Yankees, who had Carlos Rodón and Max Fried at the top of the rotation but lacked left-handers in the bullpen. Yankees relievers as a group allowed a .249 batting averaged from left-handed batters, per FanGraphs.

Bringing Hill back will mean keeping a relief answer for left-handers, although the franchise will be left with plenty of bullpen questions to answer especially after declining Loáisiga's option.

Loáisiga, who has been sidelined due to injury since August, will now hit free agency alongside Devin Williams and Luke Weaver.

After using the 2025 trade deadline to add bullpen help, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman could once more be tasked with targeting relievers as the club looks to respond to their recent ALDS loss by retooling back into a World Series contender this offseason.