The Corbin Burnes trade has already produced one obvious talking point in Milwaukee with Joey Ortiz, but the quieter part of that return is the one making noise right now. DL Hall, the left-hander who arrived from Baltimore in the February 1, 2024 deal, is putting together a timely breakout season as arbitration approaches.
That matters because Hall’s path in Milwaukee has been anything but smooth. The Brewers first tried to build him back up as a starter in 2024, giving him a spot in the Opening Day rotation after his brief relief work with the Orioles in 2023 and 2024.
Four shaky starts and a knee injury in late April shut that down quickly. He didn’t return until mid-August, and by then Milwaukee needed him in the bullpen.
He flashed enough in relief to earn a postseason roster spot that fall, though he didn’t appear in any of the Brewers’ three playoff games against the New York Mets. The next spring brought another setback, this time a lat strain in Spring Training that kept him out until late May in 2025. When he finally got back, he gave Milwaukee a 3.49 ERA before an oblique injury in mid-August interrupted things again.
So 2026 was always going to tell the real story. Hall is heading toward his first year of arbitration this offseason, and he’s answered with his best work yet, even if the shape of it is a little strange.
The results are hard to argue with: a 2.38 ERA in 32 appearances, plus 43 strikeouts in 41.2 innings. The deeper numbers are messier.
Hall is walking 17.0% of the hitters he faces, a rate that sits in the 1st percentile among qualified relievers, and his 25.8% chase rate ranks in the 17th percentile. That’s not the profile of a pitcher who should be cruising, yet Hall keeps missing barrels, generating soft contact, and pairing above-average whiff and strikeout rates with those ugly free passes.
In other words, the process is unusual, but the production is real. It also makes the Brewers’ offseason decision on Hall look far less complicated than it once might have seemed. If this version of him sticks, the Burnes trade return looks even better than it already did.
In Other News...
Brewers Will See A Familiar Face In Atlanta For This One
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Atlanta could use the lift, too, with the club still searching for steadier footing. Hicklens arrival gives the Braves another option as they prepare to face a team he knows well, and the setting in Williamsport only adds to the unusual feel of the moment. For Milwaukee, it is the sort of twist that comes with baseball's calendar, a reminder that even a neutral-site event can bring a little personal history back into the picture. [Read more 🡒]
Luis Lara Is Becoming A Brewers Spark Fans Can Feel
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Laras key catch against Atlanta was the kind of play that fits what the Brewers saw in him long before his major league debut, when they locked him into a seven-year extension. He is still early in his big-league run, but the way he is already showing up in big moments gives Milwaukee another reason to like where this is headed, even as the bigger question is how much more of that spark he can keep providing as the games get tougher. [Read more 🡒]
Angels Prospect Tyler Bremner May Be Turning A Corner At Double-A
Tyler Bremner's first professional season has had its share of bumps, but his latest outing at Double-A offered a cleaner picture of why the Angels remain so high on him. The organizations No. 2 prospect for 2026 worked six scoreless innings in Rocket Citys 2-0 win over Biloxi, allowing just two hits and one walk while striking out eight.
It was his longest scoreless start of the season, the kind of outing that can matter more for a young pitcher than the final line in the standings. Bremner still carries a 4.26 ERA over 17 starts, but performances like this are the ones that hint at a developing rhythm and give the Angels something to monitor closely as the year goes on. [Read more 🡒]