The Brewers optioned left-hander DL Hall to Triple-A Nashville this evening. The move creates an active roster spot for southpaw Bryan Hudson, who returns from the 15-day injured list.
Hall went to Milwaukee alongside Joey Ortiz as the secondary piece in the Corbin Burnes deal with Baltimore. The southpaw entered the season in the rotation but only made it through four starts. He sprained his left knee in April and wound up missing over three months. The Brewers just reinstated him from the 60-day IL yesterday. Hall got the start against the Reds, allowing three runs across 4 2/3 frames with nine strikeouts but a trio of walks.
That pushes Hall’s season earned run average to 7.29, albeit in a modest 21-inning sample. He’s striking out a slightly below-average 20.8% of opponents compared to a lofty 12.3% walk rate. Hall has never had great command, but he’s shown huge bat-missing potential throughout his minor league career. That was also the case in his limited big league work with Baltimore but has yet to materialize in Milwaukee. Hall is only getting swinging strikes on 8.6% of his offerings this season. His velocity was well down early in the year, though his fastball sat at a more customary 94.6 MPH yesterday.
Regardless, the Brewers will go without Hall for at least the next couple weeks. Barring injury to another player, he cannot be recalled for at least 15 days. Milwaukee still has a five-man rotation comprising Freddy Peralta, Tobias Myers, Colin Rea and trade acquisitions Frankie Montas and Aaron Civale.
Hudson’s return gives skipper Pat Murphy an eight-man bullpen again. The 27-year-old missed just a few weeks because of an oblique strain. Acquired from the Dodgers in a seemingly minor offseason trade, Hudson has authored a breakout 2024 season. He has fired 50 2/3 frames of 1.60 ERA ball behind a strong 28.4% strikeout rate. The former third-round draftee had a few rocky appearances preceding his IL stint last month but had been utterly dominant for most of the season’s first half. If he returns to that form, he’ll be a key high-leverage piece in a strong Milwaukee relief group.