Yankees Actually Pulled Classy Move With David Hale's Contract Instead of Releasing Him

If you're a Yankees fan who was taken aback by David Hale's sudden release on Thursday afternoon, you weren't alone, After all, Hale (when healthy and not fighting back problems) was a highly reliable middle relief option in 2019 with a penchant for Houdini work. Why there was any need to release him now, during a pandemic, we weren't sure.

Turns out, Hale himself was just as surprised as you all were, but there's a simple explanation for the maneuver: paperwork.

GET STREAMING: Sling TV is now offering a 14-day FREE trial (no credit card needed)

Hale's still a Yankee. All the team did was release him, immediately re-sign him, and change his opt-out date so he could get his bearings.

So, turns out, Yankees didn't release David Hale. Not really, anyway. In fact, Hale said the Yankees did the "classy" thing by letting him change the language in his deal to change his opt-out date w/ coronavirus shutting down baseball https://t.co/Hl2snXjK8O
— Brendan Kuty (@BrendanKutyNJ) April 3, 2020

Hale had been given an opt-out by the Yankees that could be triggered four days before the end of Spring Training. However, that did not account for any sort of abrupt, unnatural shutdown.

To make things easier on all parties, the Yanks agreed to change the language in Hale's new deal so that he may now opt out five days before the season's supposed start date, once that hopefully becomes set in stone.

Gotta give David Hale some credit. This was a disgusting pickoff move #Yankees pic.twitter.com/4WxkAUSPB2
— Dillard Barnhart (@BarnHasSpoken) June 27, 2019

So Hale's a Yankee again, despite what you may have heard -- sometimes, a release doesn't tell the full story.