Phillies: David Hale is too untrustworthy to use, even in low-stress situations

When it was revealed that the Phillies would be retaining RHP David Hale this past offseason, there was a collective “groan” let out by the team’s fanbase.

After all, this was a player who at least played a role in the Phillies having a historically bad bullpen in 2020. While he wasn’t nearly as bad as the likes of Brandon Workman, Heath Hembree, or David Phelps – he was by no means a *good* option out of the ‘pen last season.

Phillies RHP David Hale has been poor in almost every role imaginable this season.

With that said, the team opted to retain the right-hander’s services this past offseason, with the vision likely being that he’d make for a half-decent “mop up” pitcher, or long-reliever.

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Just nine outings into Hale’s 2021 campaign, and two major issues have arisen. Number one: he’s been really, really bad. Number two, he’s proven unusable even in the most stress-free of situations. Most recently, Hale turned a 6-1 lead against the Brewers into a two run affair without recording a single out.

Currently speaking, Hale’s ERA has climbed up to a 6.57 and his WHIP up to a 1.46. He’s already managed to log 12.1 innings of work for the Phillies this season, with only four of his outings going down as scoreless ones.

A rather interesting stat that Bob Wankel of Crossing Broad pulled up last night is that the Phillies were 0-8 in games where Hale pitched prior to last night’s victory – a testament to just how ineffective the veteran right-hander has been this season:

Ultimately speaking, Hale is having the type of season that should have him on the brink of being designated for assignment, however it feels like an unlikely outcome due to Joe Girardi’s affinity for the former Yankee. Maybe Dave Dombrowski comes over the top and forces Hale out of the organization, but I wouldn’t hold your breath.

In the meantime, we’re likely going to be stuck watching Hale pump in 92 MPH fastballs right over the middle of the plate. His ability to stretch out over multiple innings would be a much valued trait if he could get consistent outs, but at the moment, that’s obviously not something that he’s proven capable of doing.