The Braves have sent right-hander Ian Hamilton outright to Triple-A Gwinnett, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. That indicates he cleared waivers after being designated for assignment last week.
Hamilton has the right to elect free agency but probably won’t exercise that right. Players with at least three years of service time have the right to reject outright assignments but those under five years of service have to forfeit their remaining salary commitments when they do so. Hamilton is in that three-to-five window and is making $1.05MM this year. With almost half a million still to be paid out, he will probably accept his assignment to keep making that money.
Atlanta signed him to that deal in the offseason, likely with the knowledge that he would probably end up in this position. They outrighted him off the roster in March. This this year, he has twice been added back to the roster for a few games before being put through waivers again. It’s somewhat akin to the Carlos Carrasco situation. The details aren’t exactly the same but both pitchers have been cycled on and off the roster this year to give Atlanta a fresh arm from time to time.
Around the transactions, Hamilton has made just four appearances this year, allowing four earned runs in 4 2/3 innings. He now has a total of 155 career big league innings under his belt with a 3.72 earned run average, 25.2% strikeout rate, 11.1% walk rate and 46.8% ground ball rate. This year’s time in Triple-A has led to 22 2/3 innings with a 3.18 ERA, 30.4% strikeout rate, 6.5% walk rate and 39.3% ground ball rate.
Assuming Hamilton does accept his assignment, as he has already done twice this year, he should suit up for the Stripers in the coming days. He’ll stay game ready and could be called back up again at some point, whenever the big league club needs him.
Photo courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel, Imagn Images
