Yankees' roster hack reliever heads into free agency again (but for how long?)

For the second time in four days, New York Yankees reliever Adam Ottavino has elected free agency in lieu of reporting to their Triple-A team in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Last time, that election was a clear setup predicated on Ottavino rejoining the team a few hours later and heading to Detroit to cover more innings against the Tigers. This time, Ottavino might be on the shelf a little while longer. Or will he?

In deeply unsurprising fashion, Ottavino - who prefers to play on the East Coast if he plays at all, and who signed a $1 million MLB contract with the Yankees prior to Devin Williams' paternity leave - was unclaimed after being passed through waivers again this time around. Any team that claimed him would've owed him the vast majority of that million dollars. Given that Ottavino hasn't really displayed much reason yet why he should be guaranteed that sum at this point in his career, it's only natural that other teams (outside his geographic preference) stayed away.

And so, as we thought he would, Ottavino now remains close by and on call in case the Yankees come calling once again.

Former Yankees reliever Adam Ottavino elects free agency once again after Tigers series

This time around, though, it might be harder to the Yankees to find room to fit him in.

Reliever Ian Hamilton, slow to build himself up after an infection in spring training, rejoined the team this week. Clarke Schmidt, with one more rehab appearance ahead of him (fingers crossed), figures to return was well, possibly bumping Will Warren back to the minors. Tyler Matzek, a forgotten spring training non-roster invitee, appeared on Scranton's active roster and worked two innings on Wednesday, battling back from an oblique issue.

In the longer term, both Jonathan Loaisiga and Jake Cousins are due between one and two months down the line.

If the Yankees have a short-term need, they may go back to Ottavino. After all, he's somewhat on retainer. Now, though, they have more options than they did one week ago, including Matzek, who was surprisingly built up to two innings for his debut, and may not need a full spring.

This probably won't be the last time we see Ottavino, but it might be a while. Or it might not be! At all. That's the joy of the Ottavino Coaster.