The Pittsburgh Pirates sent left-handed pitcher Rich Hill and first baseman/designated hitter Ji-Man Choi to the San Diego Padres for first baseman Alfonso Rivas, left-handed pitcher Jackson Wolf and outfielder Estuar Suero in an MLB trade-deadline deal Tuesday afternoon.

Hill is 7-10 with a 4.76 ERA and 1.48 WHIP in 119 innings over 22 starts this season, averaging 7.9 strikeouts and 3.6 walks per nine innings. The Pirates signed the 43-year-old Hill, the oldest player in baseball, to a one-year contract worth $8 million in December as much for his ability to eat innings as for his positive influence in the clubhouse and dugout. The Padres will be his 13th team in 19 major league seasons.

“With Rich, right from day one of spring training just the voice and the ear for young pitchers in terms of listening to what they’re doing and watching how he goes about his day,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “The one thing I continually talked about is intent. He has intent with every pitch. He is emotionally attached to every pitch and I think that’s a wonderful thing for young players to see because it shows how much he cares.”

Choi, 32, missed two months with a left Achilles tendon injury in mid-April but has batted .268/.296/.634 with three doubles, four home runs and nine RBIs since returning July 7. He has a .205/.274/.507 slash line with four doubles, six homers and 11 RBIs in 23 games this season.

The Pirates acquired Choi from the Tampa Bay Rays in a trade in November and won in arbitration to pay him $4.65 million this season. Choi becomes a free agent in 2024. Shelton praised Choi for bringing good energy to the Pirates.

“He was going to be a big part of our lineup early on, got hurt, battled his way back,” Shelton said. “Since he’s been back, we’re seeing really quality at-bats. He’s done a nice job in the middle of our lineup. If you’re around Ji Man for five minutes, you enjoy yourself. He kind of provides that.”

The trade will open up spots in the Pirates’ starting rotation and at first base, where Choi replaced veteran Carlos Santana, who was dealt to the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday for 18-year-old shortstop prospect Jhonny Severino.

Rivas, 26, batted .200 (3 for 15) with two doubles and one RBI in eight games for the Padres this season. He had a .332/.462/.582 slash line with 19 doubles, three triples, nine home runs and 40 RBIs in 58 games at Triple-A El Paso.

AP San Diego Padres’ Alfonso Rivas advances from second base before being tagged out at third off a fielder’s choice by Fernando Tatis Jr. during the fourth inning against the Chicago Cubs on June 4 in San Diego.  

Wolf, 24, a 2021 fourth-round pick from West Virginia, was ranked the Padres’ No. 16 prospect by MLB Pipeline and No. 20 by Baseball America. His fastball sits at 90 mph but he relies on a sweeping slider and curveball to get outs. The 6-foot-7, 205-pounder was 8-9 with a 4.08 ERA and 1.09 WHIP with 105 strikeouts and 22 walks in 88 ⅓ innings over 18 starts at Double-A San Antonio. He made his major league debut on July 22 at Detroit, allowing three earned runs on six hits and one walk with one strikeout in a 14-3 win.

AP San Diego Padres pitcher Jackson Wolf throws against the Detroit Tigers on July 22 in Detroit.  

Suero, 17, is a 6-5, 180-pound switch hitter from the Dominican Republic who signed for a $325,000 bonus in January 2022 and was playing for the Padres’ team in the Arizona Complex League.

“It’s something you kind of expect with one-year deals like that, but it’s not fun because you get to know ‘em and play with ‘em for 100 games or so,” Pirates outfielder Bryan Reynolds said. “It’s also just the nature of it.

“I think a lot of (Choi) as a hitter. I think he’s a really good hitter. It was fun to watch him when he was healthy. Constant hard contact. Rich has been around for a while, has a lot of experience, very diligent and cares a lot. We’ll miss them both.”

---

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)

---