Braves scoop up former Yankees standout reliever as bullpen restructure continues

The Atlanta Braves front office continues to build a great roster for 2026. Pitching has become the focus for the remainder of the offseason. Atlanta's bullpen has a great backend, but they will absolutely need depth to fill the gaps and keep Robert Suarez and Raisel Iglesias (among others) fresh.

Earlier, the Braves cleared a spot on the 40-man roster by placing Anthony Molina on waivers. This led to speculation that Atlanta would be making a move at some point today. That indeed happened Friday evening, as the Braves announced the signing of former Yankees reliever Ian Hamilton. Atlanta agreed on a one-year, non-guaranteed deal with the right-hander.

Braves add Ian Hamilton on a non-guaranteed contract as the bullpen options continue to pile up

Hamilton was one of the best relievers in baseball in 2023, but injuries have kept him from having sustained success. He posted a 4.28 ERA in 2025 over 40 innings with 22 walks and 42 strikeouts.

This explains why the Braves want to give him a shot despite the inability to cover a huge chunk of innings the last two years. Over the last three seasons, Hamilton has a cumulative 3.45 ERA over 135.2 innings with 62 walks and 152 strikeouts.

Why would Atlanta take a chance on him despite a ballooning ERA each year? His success in 2023 is the short answer. Hamilton has some incredible run on his pitches and has high-strikeout upside.

In 2023, Hamilton posted a 2.64 ERA over 58 innings with 26 walks and 69 strikeouts. His advanced metrics were out of this world as he posted elite numbers. His average exit velocity, fastball velocity, barrel, groundball, chase, whiff, and strikeout percentages ranked at the top.

If he can work on improving his walk rate and find his 2023 form, the Braves may have found a gem. He will be a great addition to cover the middle innings. In short, this is absolutely a prototypical AA move.