The Yankees announced this morning that they designated the veteran as the right one Adam Ottavino To clear the roster space for the right rescuer Ian Hamiltonhe is recovering from the 15-day injury list.
This is the second time that the Yankees have designated Otavino for missions in the past week. He cleared the immunity, was elected as a free agent, and quickly re-signed after his previous DFA. The 39-year-old Righty and New York City native played three games with the Yankees and threw a 1 2/3 no-score and no-hit inning, despite four walks. He also hit three of the nine bats he faced.
The quick turnaround may not be surprising after a quick DFA and re-signing. Senior pitchers, especially relief workers who cannot be chosen by minors, often find themselves in this situation. Yang Jian has experienced similar situations in the past David Hale and Ryan Webber;The Yankees designated two pitchers as missions multiple times in the same season and quickly cleared the saving throws and re-signed on each occasion.
If Ottavino is satisfied with the setup, he will most likely go the same route after this DFA. Fans sometimes play a role in the nature of these carousel scenes, but players tend to join in. Since he is not available, the frequent DFA/resignature that appears when a fresh arm is needed is effectively attributed to being selected and re-convened to the professional. If Otavino (or any other player in this case) gets tired of Gambit more and more tired, electing free agents provides a clear path to finding a more palatable situation. But as a Brooklyn native, he may be more suitable for a periodic arrangement of this nature than most other veterans (over 13 years old). And, of course, if another club chooses to ask for Ottavino, he would be happy to head to a new club willing to take him to the major league bullpen.
Ottavino, who was all selected by the Cardinals in 2006, made his debut in St. Louis in 2010, then ran as a midstream tay in the Rockies bullpen in the 2012-18 season, and served as a midstream tay in the Rockies bullpen after Colorado announced a waiver in early 2012. He has repeatedly signed with his hometown Yankees and the Mets since arriving at free agents and has been in Boston (who went to college) for a year after a trade from the Yankees in 2021.
Ottavino served in Major League Baseball (MLB) for over 13 years, reaching 744 2/3 innings with 3.48 ERA, 46 saves, 194 holds, 27.2% strikeout rate and 10.4% walking rate. In the playoffs, he won 12 more 2/3 innings in five years.
As for Hamilton, 29, he played this season on the 15-day injury roster. He slowed down early in the camp by the long rounds, which brought him back to weeks. He took a hard blow in three triple A rehab, but the Yankees clearly felt his stuff was crisp enough and his arms were enough to rejoin the major league pen.
Hamilton is the minor league signer for the Yankees in 2023. He used to bounce from the White Sox to the Mariners to the Mariners, the Phillies, the twins, through the DFA Carousel to the Guardian, but has since exploded with a steady member of Aaron Booone’s Relief Corps. Over the past two seasons, he has hit out at 27.4% with 10% walking, 16 and 3 saves in 95 2/3 innings in New York.
