Detroit Tigers Were Trying to Scout SP Rich Hill on Sunday

The Detroit Tigers had scouts in Oakland on Sunday afternoon to watch starting pitcher — and potential trade target — Rich Hill, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.

It would appear that the Detroit Tigers are going to need to add pitching — particularly starting pitching — ahead of the August 1 trade deadline if they’re going to make a serious run at the playoffs.

To that end, the Tigers reportedly had scouts in attendance for today’s Oakland Athletics game to watch left-handed starting pitcher Rich Hill.

Here’s what Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote before today’s game:

"Another array of scouts will be on hand, including the regulars at Hill’s recent starts — the Red Sox, Orioles, Marlins and Tigers among them — along with the Rangers."

Unfortunately for Hill and his potential suitors, his start was cut short after just five pitches. He had been dealing with a blister that had pushed his scheduled start back from Friday to Sunday, but the extra days weren’t enough to keep the blister from wreaking havoc on his start (and the Athletics’ potential trade plans).

Hill, with a 2.06 ERA across 17 starts in 2015 and 2016, looks to be one of the hottest names on the trade market this month but questions remain regarding his ability to stay healthy. The 79 innings he’s already thrown this season are the most he’s thrown in the major leagues since 2007.

Hill’s contract expires at the end of the season, so there’s no extra team control, but he’ll only be due approximately $2 million the rest of the season so he’d fit inside every contender’s financial constraints.

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A blister isn’t as big of a deal as, say, elbow soreness, but teams would have every right to be concerned when what they’d be buying is a two month rental.