O's add No. 6 prospect Hall for stretch run

CLEVELAND -- In the nearly three weeks DL Hall spent away from the Orioles after his debut on Aug. 13, he changed a lot. He had the nerves of his debut in his back pocket, now pitching with the calmness that he’d already made it. He took on a new role, now being employed as a reliever for the stretch run.

But he did return to one key item absent from his first callup: his baby teal glove.

“That’s me. I like the loud colors and things like that. That's always been me,” Hall said Wednesday from the visitors' clubhouse at Progressive Field. “Just want to get back to myself.”

Hall, Baltimore’s No. 6 prospect and No. 92 in baseball per MLB Pipeline, returned to the Orioles as one of their two September callups before Thursday’s tilt against the Guardians in Cleveland, alongside recently signed first baseman Jesús Aguilar, bolstering the bullpen with another flamethrower from the left side. Hall now brings with him a bit of a newfound confidence, purpose, refinement and, perhaps most importantly, he fills a role for this team.

“I'm looking to help in any way I can,” Hall said. “It's a way that's gonna keep my innings down this year after an injury last year. I'm just happy to be healthy and hopefully finish a full season, just to prove that I can do that, to myself and to others. That's huge for me.”

Hall’s brief tenure as a reliever for Norfolk was microcosmic. He was electric at times, striking out 11 across four appearances and 6 2/3 innings, but he walked five (albeit three in his first outing alone). Hall gave up more runs (three) than hits (two). But most notable was that he learned the role, and being tasked with focusing on just three batters at a time instead of a nine-batter lineup for five-plus innings can suit him in the short term.

“We talked about it with him yesterday about just being as aggressive as he possibly can for the time that he's out there,” said manager Brandon Hyde. “You don't have to worry about staying out there anymore, you don't have to worry about monitoring your pitch count and those types of things. It's about going to get the three hitters out this inning, and then we'll go from there. And I think it's going to benefit him.”

Baltimore optioned Hall to Norfolk after his debut against the Rays in order to have him get used to a relief role, where the Orioles believe he can best impact the team in the short term while managing his innings coming off a serious injury; Hall endured a stress reaction in his left elbow in July 2021 that limited him to just 31 2/3 innings last season.

Hall will likely require two days of rest between outings, he said. He last pitched for Norfolk on Tuesday, which means he could find himself on the mound as soon as Friday for his Camden Yards debut.

Hall is fine with that plan, knowing it was the quickest path that can get him back to the Majors. Still, both he and the organization expect him to arrive at Spring Training on a starter’s workload.

Until then, he’ll enjoy the experience of a pennant chase, joining top prospects and close friends Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson, Kyle Stowers and others who started the year alongside him on baseball’s top-rated farm system.

“It's unreal,” Hall said. “I was talking to the guys about it earlier, just seeing some of the younger faces in here that I've been around for a while now. It's awesome to see. It's exciting.”