Ian Hamilton was expected to be a big addition to the Yankees’ bullpen down the stretch, but it seems they’ll have to do without him for even longer as he was scratched from last night’s rehab outing due to back spasms. One of the team’s most valuable relievers last season, Hamilton was a multi-inning weapon with a unicorn slider that was labeled the “slambio”, a combination of a slider and changeup. While this season has certainly not gone the way he had hoped, his importance to this bullpen cannot be understated, and we’ll have to wait and see what this means for his rehab.
Aaron Boone gave this news to reporters before today’s game against the St. Louis Cardinals, and it certainly shakes up some of their bullpen plans for the near future.
Back Spasms Could Delay Ian Hamilton’s Return to the Yankees
After two sparkling appearances with the Somerset Patriots, it looked like Ian Hamilton wasn’t too far away from a potential return to the Yankees. Now, that’s all up in the air as back spasms prevented him from appearing in last night’s game, where we saw plenty of rehabbing Yankees such as Cody Poteet and Anthony Rizzo. Lou Trivino and Clarke Schmidt should be close to returning as both of them made their most recent appearances in Triple-A, where they looked rather impressive.
This is still a tough blow for the Yankees since among the names rehabbing, Hamilton is easily the one with the best track record coming into the 2024 season. It’s just one season, but that 2023 campaign was dominant, as the Yankees were able to utilize the 29-year-old in a variety of roles down the stretch. He was excellent against both righties and lefties, could throw multiple innings, and could even close out a game if asked to, so any follow-up on the severity of the back spasms will be closely monitored.
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As for the other returning arms, Cody Poteet dazzled once more in a rehab start with the Somerset Patriots, as he’s allowed just one run in three outings while striking out over 30% of batters faced. His stuff looks sharper, although the velocity readings at TD Bank Ballpark aren’t as reliable as the measurement tools the Yankees use for these outings, as Gerrit Cole mentioned the readings for his start at the stadium weren’t accurate.
The veteran right-hander is a valuable depth piece for this rotation, but the heavy-hitter who is aiming to return to this rotation soon is Clarke Schmidt. The former first-round pick led the team in ERA when he was healthy (2.52) and looked to be on a roll, utilizing the sinker less and limiting the damage he allowed on the pitch. Schmidt’s velocity was right in line with what we saw for most of the season, so that’s a very encouraging sign.
Scott Effross and Lou Trivino are both in Scranton rehabbing, and they’re both interesting pieces to the Yankees’ bullpen equation. After the Yankees gave Effross time off to get his velocity back up, he’s been remarkable, allowing just one run and striking out 30% of batters faced. The right-hander has seen the fastball velocity tick back up to what we saw in 2022, although the slider isn’t sweeping as much as it had before.
As for Lou Trivino, the velocity is still building up but all of his movement profiles look excellent. He’s allowed two runs across his six rehab appearances in Somerset and Scranton, striking out six batters with two walks. The Yankees are hoping to get some reinforcements soon, and with the roster expanding by two spots, they could have some interesting decisions to make soon.