Yankees general manager Brian Cashman made a few bullpen moves at the deadline to reinforce a unit that needed support. However, he made it clear that the team was eyeing a few players returning from the injured list in the month of August. Starting pitcher Clarke Schmidt is expected to make a return in a few weeks, but the Yankees are also expecting to get back Ian Hamilton, one of their relief pitchers.
Hamilton is gearing up for a “high-intensity” bullpen session on August 6, before he faces off against live hitters, per Aaron Boone.
The Yankees Need the Best of Ian Hamilton
The 29-year-old hosted a 2.64 ERA last season over 58 innings, striking out 10.71 batters per nine with a 77.2% left-on-base rate and 55.3% ball rate. Unfortunately, he struggled to open the year for the Yankees, hosting a 4.55 ERA over 29.2 innings. However, the Yankees know his stuff is elite, and if he can get back to full health, he could be a major addition.
Hamilton has been dealing with a lat strain, fighting off some of the pain before he was eventually placed on the injured list. Hamilton’s decreasing ground ball rate is a primary reason for his regression, but his velocity still looks good, and he lost a bit of movement on his slider.
However, Hamilton is more than capable of generating quality performances, considering his slider has a .235 expected batting average with a .315 expected slugging rate, including a 45.4% whiff rate and 18.8% put-away rate. His sinker has been a bit problematic, with opposing batters hitting .500 against it.
As long as Hamilton returns and shakes off any rust, he can be a valuable asset for a team that needs him to play at peak performance.
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Last season, he worked himself into the closer role at times, helping offset Clay Holmes’s volatility at times. Holmes has been a bit shaky this season but has been better recently, so getting Hamilton back will just add another piece to the puzzle the Yankees need for a hopeful postseason push.