Giants sign veteran infielder, Redwood High alum Aaron Hill

Versatile infielder Aaron Hill, who grew up a Giants fan and starred at Visalia’s Redwood High before his college and pro career took him out of California, has a chance at a homecoming in 2017.

The 34-year-old veteran of 12 major league seasons has agreed to a minor league contract with San Francisco and would get a $2 million, one-year deal if he is added to the 40-man roster.

Hill joins a growing list of veteran infielders in the mix trying to land a job out of spring training, along with Jimmy Rollins and Korean Jae-gyun Hwang. Eduardo Nunez is the projected starting third baseman with Conor Gillaspie expected to play as well.

Hill has familiarity with the National League West from his years with the Arizona Diamondbacks, but spent last season between Milwaukee and Boston. He batted .262 with 10 home runs, 14 doubles and 38 RBIs in 125 games.

Hill spent the previous five seasons with the D-backs, where in 2012 he hit 26 home runs and drove in 85 while posting a triple-slash line of .302/360/.522.

At AT&T Park, he is a career .257 hitter with two homers in 140 career at-bats.

A first-round pick by Toronto (No. 13 overall) out of Louisiana State in 2003, he debuted in the majors with the Blue Jays on May 20, 2005. Hill spent seven years in Toronto, with his best season coming in 2009 when he hit 36 homers, with 108 RBIs and a triple-slash of .286/.330/.499.

As a senior at Redwood, Hill hit .565 with nine homers and 21 steals and slugged 1.185, The then-Anaheim Angels selected him in the seventh round of the 2000 draft but he passed on that opportunity to turn pro in favor of a scholarship at LSU. He was the Southeastern Conference Player of the Year in 2003.

This story was originally published February 17, 2017 at 11:54 AM with the headline "Giants sign veteran infielder, Redwood High alum Aaron Hill."