Adam Ottavino agreed to a Major League contract with the New York Yankees during Devin Williams’ paternity leave that grants him $1 million if he’s in MLB and $150,000 in the minors. The contract also, apparently, affords the Yankees the right to continue yo-yo’ing him back and forth into and out of purgatory in perpetuity.
Ottavino’s $1 million owed makes him slightly less appealing as a waiver claim, allowing the Yankees to add him and drop him, as needed, confident that no other team will select him after he’s been DFA’d. They might get burned eventually. For now, though, he’s essentially serving as the 27th man, filling in whenever the Yankees need an extra body.
At first, he filled Williams’ gap, pitching twice against the Arizona Diamondbacks before being sent back into the wilderness. Then, after officially electing free agency on Sunday, he was brought back to cover Monday’s game in frigid Detroit (sorry, man), pitching 1/3 of an inning, walking two men, and escaping with a K.
Now, the 39-year-old will hit the waiver wire yet again, as Ian Hamilton has officially been built up enough down in Florida to join the Yankees for what will likely be the coldest series of the year (again, sorry, man).
Prior to today’s game, the Yankees made the following roster moves:
• Returned RHP Ian Hamilton (#71) from his rehab assignment and reinstated him from the 15-day injured list.
• Designated RHP Adam Ottavino for assignment.— New York Yankees (@Yankees) April 8, 2025
Yankees reliever Ian Hamilton returns from Injured List as Adam Ottavino is designated for assignment again
Hamilton, who built up slightly slower than his compatriots after battling a virus to start the spring, was slightly less valuable in 2024 than he’d been during his breakout season the year prior. Still, he managed to pitch to a similar 3.03 FIP to his 2.82 total the year before. At his peak, his filthy Slambio is one of the best-kept secrets in baseball (and pairs nicely with Williams’ changeup). If the Yankees had a healthy and reliable Hamilton rather than a “barely there” version in October, things could’ve been different down the stretch.
Now, he’ll attempt to thicken out the back end a bit while the team waits for Jonathan Loaisiga to recover next month-ish. In the meantime, Ottavino will stay valuable on the sidelines as well, unless another northeast team (Otto’s preferred region) gets sick of the gamesmanship and decides they can swallow the prorated million dollars.
