The Twins announced that they have officially signed right-handed reliever Alex Colome. To make room for Colome on their 40-man roster, they designated fellow righty Ian Hamilton for assignment.
It was a short stay on the 40-man for Hamilton, whom the Twins claimed from the Phillies via waivers exactly one week ago. Hamilton also spent time with the Mariners earlier in the offseason. He entered the pros as an 11th-round pick of the White Sox in 2016, but they designated him for assignment in September.
Now 25 years of age, Hamilton has thrown 12 innings in the majors and yielded six earned runs on 10 hits with nine strikeouts against seven walks. Hamilton has averaged almost 96 mph on his fastball, though, and has another minor league option remaining. He owns a 4.85 ERA with 48 strikeouts against a meager seven walks in 42 2/3 Triple-A frames.
what was even the point of claiming him? makes no sense
Ostensibly, the more times a player has passed through the waiver wire and the closer teams have gotten to the rosters they plan to take to spring training, the more likely the player is to clear waivers. Presumably that’s worth it to the DFAing team if they liked something about his performance. It’s still a little weird, though.
ah, makes sense but not really lol
Think of it like a game. They’re trying to slide him through waivers while all other interested teams have a full 40 man roster and no one they want to drop for him.
You win, you get to stash a young player you like on the upper minors until you need him.
You lose and it’s not like he was originally on your team anyway.
I know I just think it’s silly lol
Well, when they claimed him they hadn’t officially signed Colome so if something fell through, they were using the spot.
Look at it this way. What was the harm of claiming him?
Hamilton has been on 2 teams this offseason without throwing a single pitch.
Who was the player who went though like 6 teams a couple of off seasons ago?
didnt brett wallace,former cardinal, do that? i know he was on like 5 teams in a span of a couple months
Engelb Vielma, Christian Walker, and Adam Brett Walker II all come to mind as guys who bounced around during the off season.
3. Seattle.
Bring him home Jerry!
Perry Minasian needs to be all over this guy. Give him a spot on the 40-man and give Mitch Keller the boot. Hamilton has shown decent success in the minors. Throws 96 and can run it up 99mph, good walk ratio, throws a good slider, and decent changeup. He was involved in a car accident at the start of 2019 which likely stalled his development at a crucial time with the shutdown of the minors during 2020 Pandemic. He could potentially turn into a valuable bullpen piece.
Mitch Keller?
Maybe someone hasn’t followed baseball? Texas Pirates fan?
Sorry I meant Kyle Keller the pitcher Angels acquired from the Marlins. Mitch Keller is actually a pretty good prospect from the pirates.
This guys has been on a DFA spree the last few months, Chisox, Mariners, Phillies and now the Twins have DFA him too.
They guy has potential and he’s just 25.
Kinda reminds me of Liam Hendricks he went to a similar DFA spree, not saying he’s gonna be as good but he could be a diamond in the rough, perfect fit for a rebuilding team like the Mariners,they should claim him again, worth giving a chance they got nothing to lose.
I didn’t realize the Twins claimed Hamilton until just reading this article, which obviously means the White Sox weren’t interested in bringing him back (the Sox had priority over the Twins).
I can’t believe he fell apart that badly. When the Sox brought him up, people were keeping an eye on him as a potential closer. Now he’s like a pinball going from team to team via DFA.
If I’m a rebuilding team, I’d take a chance on him. Maybe all he needs is the right situation, maybe the right pitching coach, I don’t know. But at 25, why not take a chance on him if you’re a team who doesn’t have a lot to play for in ’21.
The White Sox didn’t have a 40-man roster spot available at that time and weren’t willing to shed one for Ian Hamilton. They still don’t have a spot open as we post.
Hamilton has had some very bad luck since making his White Sox debut on August 31, 2018. He opened the 2019 season on the injured list with right shoulder inflammation after a car accident early in spring camp. When Hamilton returned from the injured list, he was optioned to AAA Charlotte. On June 28, the White Sox announced that Hamilton would miss the rest of the 2019 season after being struck in the face with a line drive at AAA. He suffered multiple facial fractures and lost teeth which required multiple surgeries to repair.
Hamilton was healthy enough to make the White Sox opening day 28-man roster last July and appeared in 4 games out of their bullpen. On August 15 he was placed on the 10-day IL with right shoulder soreness. The team DFA’d him on September 18 to make room for Garrett Crochet on their roster.
@Aaron Sapoznik
I forgot all about him pitching for the Sox last year. The year was so crazy and such a blur. Obviously I didn’t look at his stats page, didn’t think I needed to lol.
I didn’t get why they kept some of the other scrubs on their 40-man over him. Maybe they thought he would sneak through waivers.
Personally I would’ve kept him on the 40-man. Then again, maybe by now they would’ve tried sneaking him through waivers this Winter anyway.
It will be interesting to see if a new organization claims former White Sox reliever Ian Hamilton off of waivers. Neither the Cubs or White Sox have a 40-man roster spot open as I post.
If Hamilton goes unclaimed, the Twins will very likely outright him to their AAA affiliate with a non-roster invite to spring camp.
@Aaron Sapoznik
The Twins may end up looking very smart if they can pull this off. Obviously it will take a couple years to find out.
At worst, he will end up as MiLB depth at very little cost. At best, something may click for him and he becomes that reliever the Sox were hoping for when they brought him up a couple years ago.
I do wish the Sox still had him in their system, but they saw something they didn’t like in him (and apparently still don’t like in him if they didn’t claim him when they had an opportunity to).
I added a reply to your initial comment that sheds light on Ian Hamilton’s run of ‘bad luck’ with the White Sox. He was the victim of two ‘accidents’ and then a roster casualty in late September that ended his White Sox career, at least for now.
Twins hoping Ian Hamilton passes through waivers and then he will not throw away his shot! He simply won’t throw away his shot, he’s young scrappy and hungry and he’s not throwing away his shot!
Oh to be in the room where it hapoens
He has Pirates written all over him.