The Brewers received a significant return in exchange for Corbin Burnes, and left-hander DL Hall—who had spent nearly all of his time in Baltimore working out of the bullpen—was one of the main components of that return.
The team was clear when Hall was acquired that he would be a part of the starting rotation. Hall’s first four starts in that experiment did not go well, though. Not only does Hall now have a 7.71 ERA and a walk rate (11.9%) that is almost identical to his deflated strikeout percentage (15.4%), but in three of his four starts with the team, he has failed to record an out in the fifth inning.
It’s not shocking, considering those significant setbacks, that Brewers manager Pat Murphy said following Hall’s opening day on Saturday that the team may change course if Hall is unable to get things going. That evening, Murphy acknowledged to reporters (including Adam McCalvy of MLB.com) that “adjustments got to be made” in order for Hall to continue in the rotation. The team also “can’t keep letting him throw 3 1/3 and say ‘that’s fine.”
At the moment, Freddy Peralta, Wade Miley, Colin Rea, and Joe Ross alternate with Hall. Though he has had his own issues this season, left-hander Aaron Ashby is one candidate to slip into a rotation spot should the young southpaw find himself relegated to the bullpen at some point. In his lone big league start of the season, Ashby was completely destroyed, giving up eight runs (four earned) in 3 2/3 innings. With a 9.28 ERA in three starts, his experience in the minors hasn’t gotten any better.
The Brewers might be better off waiting for right-hander Jakob Junis to come off the injured list after missing the last two weeks due to a shoulder discomfort before changing Hall’s use if Ashby is still unable to produce results.
Extra from NL Central
Left fielder Ian Happ of the Cubs was taken out of Friday’s game against the Marlins in the seventh inning due to what manager Craig Counsell reported to reporters, including Marquee Sports Network’s Andy Martinez, as discomfort in his left hamstring. Counsell called the action “precautionary” at the time, despite the fact that Happ was conspicuously absent from the team’s Saturday doubleheader.
Though it makes sense for the Cubs to be careful with their left fielder after he sustained a slight strain of the same hamstring during spring training last month, it is unclear if Happ will ultimately need to go on the disabled list due to the injury. After Seiya Suzuki suffered an oblique injury, Mike Tauchman and Patrick Wisdom took turns covering right field, with Alexander Canario substituting for Happ in left field yesterday.
Due to discomfort in his right forearm, Reds right-hander Ian Gibaut has missed the whole 2024 season. On Saturday, the team stated that Gibaut had returned from his rehab assignment after experiencing “renewed” soreness in the same spot.
Manager David Bell recently said that Gibaut might start his rehab assignment again this week, according to MLB.com’s injury tracker. Still, the Reds organization, who relied heavily on the right-hander in his 75 2/3 innings pitched last season, is not happy with the news. The Reds have turned to Emilio Paganto and Fernando Cruz to lay the stage for closer Alexis Diaz as Gibaut is no longer available.