Yankees reliever leaves for Braves to revisit the scene of his biggest 2025 crime

The New York Yankees non-tendered a whole mess of relievers at the end of November, vowing to remake a troubled bullpen. Familiar names like Mark Leiter Jr., Scott Effross, and Ian Hamilton were sent into free agency without much fanfare. Who would replace them? Did it really matter? Addition by subtraction felt inevitable.

And yet ... the Yankees haven't done all that much work in the wake of their initial exodus. Rule 5 Draft pick Cade Winquest has to stick; otherwise, he'll be offered back to the St. Louis Cardinals. Beyond bequeathing an active roster spot to a Double-A player they've long coveted, the Yankees haven't finished Part 2 of of their bullpen plan. In fact, they haven't really begun it.

Meanwhile, while Effross is still on the open market (side note: that's crazy), Leiter Jr. has joined the Athletics, while Hamilton landed with the Atlanta Braves on a non-guaranteed deal on Friday night.

Hamilton was absolutely nails for the Yankees in 2023 when they first uncovered him, striking out 69 batters in 58 innings powered by his beloved Slambio, a slider/changeup hybrid that helped him find a home after bouncing around. He scuffled midway through the 2024 season, then lost his command in 2025, walking 22 in 40 total MLB frames (though he only allowed 28 hits).

His lowest moment - and one of the strangest decisions of the 2025 Yankees season - came in Atlanta, his new hometown.

Yankees lose Ian Hamilton to Atlanta Braves, where his worst moment of 2025 occurred

Coming out of the All-Star break, the Yankees desperately needed to regain the momentum they had fumbled away in June, and had a chance to start the second half emphatically against a stuck-in-the-mud Braves team sitting 10 games under .500. Instead of shuffling their rotation to find a big name who could put a boot down on Atlanta's neck after the All-Star break, they were forced to rest Cam Schlittler (biceps discomfort) and Max Fried, who was battling blisters. And so ... they started Hamilton, who wasn't just a reliever, but was a reliever who was barely holding on to an MLB roster spot.

Predictably, the game went awry as soon as the curtain rose, as Hamilton began his outing single-double-double. The Yankees never overcame the 3-0 hole Hamilton dug and placed them into. In fact, they never scored a single run against Spencer Strider. The second half looked a lot like the slumber that defined their summer stumble.

Hamilton has never had a truly bad season among his three with the Yankees, but he was hardly a bonafide major leaguer the last time we saw him. Maybe the Yankees will live to regret letting him walk - but that'll probably only happen if they continue slumbering through the "bullpen revamp" portion of their offseason and beyond. They ... they do know the unit is bad, right?