Left-hander Tim Hill and the New York Yankees on Tuesday agreed to a one-year, $2.85 million contract that includes a club option for 2026, sources told ESPN's Jeff Passan on Tuesday, reuniting the reliever and the club after Hill excelled in New York last season.

The team option is for $3 million with a $350,000 buyout, sources told Passan. Hill will earn $2.5 million in 2025.

Hill, 34, unexpectedly became an essential cog in the Yankees' bullpen in 2024. After six seasons with the Kansas City Royals and San Diego Padres, the veteran ground ball specialist began the season with the woeful Chicago White Sox until he was designated for assignment and released in June after recording a 5.87 ERA in 27 appearances.

A week later, the Yankees signed him to a one-year deal and watched him become one of the top left-handed relievers in baseball, posting a 2.05 ERA in 44 innings across 35 games during the regular season. He then pitched in 10 of the Yankees' 14 postseason games, limiting opponents to one earned run over 8 innings.

Wielding a funky sidearm delivery and 89 mph fastball, Hill finished the season with, by far, the highest ground ball rate (68.2%) among major league relievers while registering the lowest strikeout rate (10.7%). His 1.4% barrel rate ranked second in the majors.

Hill is the Yankees' fourth significant bullpen acquisition this winter, along with closer Devin Williams, Jonathan Loaisiga and Fernando Cruz. And he fills a glaring need: Before Tuesday, the club didn't have a left-handed reliever on its 40-man roster. Now it has one who was instrumental in its run to the World Series last October.