Red Sox give former Tiger Matt Hall a new lease on big-league life

Fort Myers, Fla. — Matt Hall, who’d just finished his second stint in the big leagues with the Tigers, was sitting around the house with his father back in mid-January when the name "Al Avila" popped up on his phone.

Adrenalin spike.

“He said we’re going to DFA you,” Hall said. “I was like, ‘OK.’ I didn’t know what to say. I was not expecting that at all.”

And yet, it may end up being the call that recharges his career.

There was a team out there that wanted him bad enough they weren’t willing to risk him clearing waivers. The Boston Red Sox, who are giving Hall a chance to win the fifth spot in their rotation this spring, traded minor-league catcher Jhon Nunez to get him before somebody else could claim him.

“It’s been great,” Hall said Wednesday, sitting in the Red Sox clubhouse sipping a cup of coffee, just like he did every morning at TigerTown. “I like it a lot. This is a great group of guys and they’ve welcomed me with open arms. It’s a good organization.

“I’m just trying to better myself every day and hope I can make the roster.”

What the Red Sox like about Hall — which is the same thing the Tigers did — is the ridiculously high spin rate on his curveball. His 2,927-rpm rate is among the best in baseball, and it translated to a .226 opponent average and 39% swing-and-miss rate last season.

Still, he never quite found his footing with the Tigers — which may be in part due to the role he played. Which was never clearly defined. Drafted in the sixth round after a stellar career at Missouri State in 2015, he rose through the system as a starter. Of his 122 minor-league appearances, 85 were starts.

But in his two stints with the Tigers in 2018 and 2019, all 21 appearances were in relief. Long relief and short relief. The precursor for his career in Detroit came in his big-league debut. It was in Cleveland in 2018. Michael Fulmer had given up a pair of home runs and then left with an injury.

Hall got the emergency call, warmed up hastily and proceeded to give up eight hits, a walk, a hit batsman and nine runs (six of them were earned). Welcome to the Show, kid.

In his three months with the Tigers, he pitched in one victory — 20 no-decisions and one loss.

Still, even after he was blindsided by the DFA and trade — the Tigers needed a roster spot for veteran starter Ivan Nova — he harbors no bitterness toward the club.

“They had to make a move and I was the move,” he said. “It’s a business. I understand that. I have no hard feelings toward the Tigers. It’s a good organization, and I had fun growing up in that system and making it up to the big leagues.”

He won’t lie, though. When he heard the Red Sox were going to put him in the mix for the fifth starter spot, he felt like he was given a new lease on life.

“It definitely made me want to get to work and work even harder,” he said. “This is definitely an opportunity of a lifetime, that’s for sure. I hope I can put up some good numbers and see what happens.”

Hall pitched three crisp innings in an intra-squad game on Tuesday. In his two Grapefruit League outings, he’s walked three, struck out three and allowed two runs.  But the Red Sox rotation took another hit this week with Chris Sale going down with an elbow injury.

He has two minor-league options left, so even if he has to start at Triple-A Pawtucket, that’s a far less crowded house than what the Tigers will have at Triple-A Toledo this season.

“I’m in a good place,” Hall said, smiling.

chris.mccosky@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @cmccosky