Yankees replace injured Ian Hamilton on ALCS roster with terrifying backup option

This whole time, we were focused on whether left-hander Tim Hill could be the 2024 Yankees' version of Damaso Marte, but we were looking in the wrong place all along.

Right-handed reliever Ian Hamilton's season is over, mere weeks after he returned from injury looking spry and ready to cover multiple innings. Unfortunately, the Yankees proceeded to play a remarkable number of too-close-for-comfort playoff games in a row, and Hamilton found himself just outside of the team's Mount Rushmore of Trust. As a result, he didn't pitch between Game 2 of the ALDS against Kansas City (loss) and Game 3 of the ALCS in Cleveland (you, uh, you know).

His appearance this time around, expected to consist of multiple innings, covered under 10 pitches; he injured his calf sprinting to first on a grounder, and had to be removed from the game after a series of warmup pitches. Tim Mayza replaced him, ultimately allowing an additional insurance run. Those things tend to matter when a team loses in extras.

With the chance to replace him on Friday, with the entire bullpen overworked, the Yankees opted to place Hamilton on the IL. Though the possibility of this mattering is decreasing by the day, he'll also miss the World Series, if the Yankees make it.

In his place, the Yankees have opted for trade deadline pickup Mark Leiter Jr. over long man Cody Poteet. Friday's Game 4 will probably be covered by some combination of Luis Gil, Marcus Stroman, Jake Cousins and Leiter Jr. Giddy up.

Yankees replace Ian Hamilton with Mark Leiter Jr. on ALCS roster

When the Yankees acquired Leiter Jr., experts touted his swing-and-miss splitter, as well as his unwavering dog mentality. People who are typically good at parsing emotional signals believed he'd hold up well under intense scrutiny.

While he made it through a few appearances in tight quarters early (his escape right off the plane in Philadelphia was particularly impressive), he eventually dissolved, allowing runs in nine of his 21 appearances with the club. That was good for a 4.98 ERA in pinstripes -- unsightly, but nothing compared to Marte's 9.45 regular season mark in 2009. There's hope yet.

At the very least, the Yankees have replaced an inactive body with a live arm during their time of need. 86 Ks for Leiter Jr. in 58 innings is a fairly solid indicator of why he was acquired in the first place.