10:24pm ET: Bob Nightengale says Hale did indeed get an invitation to Spring Training. He’ll earn $600,000 at the big league level.
8:00pm ET: According to Chris Cotillo, the Yankees have signed journeyman right-hander David Hale to a minor league contract. He has big league time, so I assume he received an invitation to Spring Training. We’ll find out when the Yankees announce all their non-roster players.
Hale, 30, had some prospect shine with the Braves back in the day, and he’s since bounced from the Braves to the Rockies to the Orioles back to the Braves to the Dodgers. He split last season between Double-A and Triple-A, throwing 81.2 innings with a 4.08 ERA (3.85 FIP) across 14 starts and one relief appearance.
In 178.2 big league innings with the Braves and Rockies, Hale has a 4.48 ERA (4.37 FIP) with 15.3% strikeouts and 7.9% walks. PitchFX had him averaging 90.8 mph with his sinker and 80.7 mph with his slider during a brief stint with Colorado in 2016. He also threw a few four-seamers and changeups.
Hale figures to be the veterans innings dude for Triple-A Scranton this summer. Always need a guy like that. Someone to soak up innings and make sure the prospects don’t get overworked. Hale is the fourth player the Yankees have signed to a minor league deal this winter, joining Erik Kratz, Jace Peterson, and Danny Espinosa.
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