The Twins have been in contact with veteran left-hander , who for big league scouts earlier today, Dan Hayes of The Athletic. The Red Sox were also in attendance for Hills showcase, WEEIs Rob Bradford , though its not clear whether theyve spoken to Hill about a potential reunion. The Yankees and Dodgers and thus presumably also in attendance this morning. Minnesotas interest comes at a time when was of the teres major muscle in his right shoulder that puts the remainder of his season in jeopardy. Ryan joined righty on the 15-day IL earlier today, leaving Minnesota with an inexperienced group of options , , behind veterans and in the starting rotation. Hill, 44, has said since last year that his plan for the 2024 season was to pitch but only in the seasons second half. The southpaw signed a one-year deal with the Pirates in the 2022-23 offseason and pitched well early before beginning to show signs of fatigue. He still managed to eat up 146 1/3 innings between Pittsburgh and San Diego (who acquired him at last years trade deadline), but it was generally a tale of two seasons for Hill. The lefty notched a respectable 4.34 ERA and matching FIP through his first 15 starts, punching out 21.1% of his opponents against an 8.6% walk rate. In his final 63 1/3 innings, he was torched for a 6.82 ERA with Tyler Johnson Jersey a 17.7% strikeout rate, 9% walk rate and 1.71 HR/9. Waiting until later in the season affords MLBs elder statesmen some perks beyond potentially keeping him fresh. Most importantly, Hill has spoken on record before about the additional time he was able to spend with his family, coaching his sons team ( ). Signing in August also ensures that hes able to land with a club that has a good shot at making the postseason. Minnesota would fit that bill. The Twins have been in second place in the AL Central and holding onto an AL Wild Card spot for most of the season. At 63-50, the Twins are 3.5 games behind Cleveland in the division, but theyre also hosting the Guardians for a four-game set this weekend that would shake up the top of the division if Minnesota can manage a sweep. (Theyre currently leading the Guards in Game 1 of todays doubleheader.) Hill is no stranger to the Twins organization, having pitched there during the shortened 2020 season. Injuries limited him to eight starts, but he posted a 3.03 ERA in 38 2/3 innings as a Twin and reached the postseason that year. Bradford spoke to a scout who was at Hills showcase this morning, noting that the lefty threw more than 100 pitches and looked impre sive ( ). Hill himself tells Bradford that he believes hes built up to the point where hes ready to go throw five or six innings in a start right now ( ). Hill isnt the only reinforcement the Twins are pondering, though second alternative is nearly half Hills age. Top prospect has skyrocketed up prospect rankings this season on the back of a dominant showing in High-A and Double-A. He was recently bumped up to Triple-A St. Paul, and president of baseball operations Derek Falvey confirmed to the Twins beat that Matthews is under consideration for a promotion to the majors. I think Zebbys definitely in the conversation, Falvey said this afternoon ( via KSTPs Darren Wolfson). Obviously, hes pitched exceptionally well for the whole year all the way through levels hes been at. Hes now at Triple-A and knocking on the door. With the injuries we have, hes certainly in the conversation. As we think about the needs for next week, hes certainly a name that were talking about. Matthews, the Twins eighth-round pick in 2022, already looks like a nice find for the organization. The right-hander posted sub-2.00 ERAs in both High-A and Double-A before his recent promotion to Triple-A. Hes had two solid starts and two rough starts at the top minor league level. Collectively, hes posted a 2.60 ERA with an impre sive 30.5% strikeout rate and a staggering 1.8% walk rate. Matthews has fanned a hefty 114 opponents and i sued just seven walks all season. Matthews has ridden that breakout season all the way to the No. 61 spot on Baseball Americas recent update to , where they note that Matthews has perhaps the best command in minor league baseball. Matthews 60th in the sport, and MLB.com has him . Falvey also added that the aforementioned Paddack is still expected back this season. Hes tracking really well, per the Twins baseball ops leader ( via The Athletics Aaron Gleeman) and could begin a throwing program in the near future. Paddack has had a Jekyll-and-Hyde season, at times looking dominant and others looking fatigued in his first full season back from the second Tommy John procedure of his career. Hes twice punched out 10 hitters in a game and allowed two or fewer runs in 10 of his 17 starts. However, hes also had starts where hes been rocked for seven runs and nine runs, leading to a 4.99 ERA on the season. Paddacks 88 1/3 innings this season are already more than his combined total from 2022-23 while he underwent and rehabbed from that Tommy John procedure. Neverthele s, the Twins plan to use him as a starter when hes ready to return, per Falvey. Theres no clear timetable for that yet, but if he can begin a throwing progre sion soon, a return sometime next month seems feasible. Paddack last pitched on July 14 and has been out since with a forearm strain. Darcy Rota Jersey