Ian Hamilton Replaced By Mark Leiter Jr. On Yankees’ ALCS Roster

Major League Baseball announced that it has approved a roster substitution for the Yankees, with right-hander Ian Hamilton replaced by fellow righty Mark Leiter Jr. Playoff rules dictate that a player removed due to an injury is ineligible to play in that series as well as the following one, so Hamilton won’t be eligible to play in the World Series if the Yankees advance.

The move doesn’t come out of nowhere, as Hamilton was removed from last night’s game against the Guardians with an injury that he appeared to sustain while covering first base on a ground ball. The Yankees described his injury as left calf tightness and it now appears that it’s serious enough that they felt compelled to make a switch.

That could be because they don’t expect Hamilton back in the next few weeks or simply because they didn’t want to play short-handed for the next few days. The Yanks are about to play their second of three consecutive games and used six relievers in last night’s ten-inning contest that they eventually lost. Even if there was a chance that Hamilton’s calf would be healed by later in this series or in the World Series, they might need the extra arm to get through tonight and tomorrow.

Hamilton, 29, wasn’t the most important arm in manager Aaron Boone’s bullpen. Last night’s appearances was just his second of this year’s playoffs. But he was solid during the regular season, making 35 appearances with a 3.82 earned run average. He struck out 25.2% of batters faced, walked 8.2% of them and got grounders on 43.8% of balls in play. He earned one save and 11 holds this year, the latter number coming in third on the team behind Luke Weaver and Tommy Kahnle.

Leiter, 33, had some strong recent results with the Cubs but struggled after a deadline deal that sent him to the Bronx. From the start of 2022 until the trade, he posted a 3.85 ERA in 168 1/3 innings for the Cubs. In that time, he had a 28.9% strikeout rate, 8.8% walk rate and 47.8% ground ball rate.

At the end of July, the Yanks sent minor leaguers Ben Cowles and Jack Neely to the Cubs in order to acquire Leiter, but he posted a 4.98 ERA in his 21 appearances for the Yanks after that deal. While many Yankee fans groan at the mere mention of Leiter’s name, the baseball gods were seemingly responsible for a lot of those runs.

As a Yankee, Leiter’s 39% ground ball rate was subpar but his 31.7% strikeout rate was strong and his 8.7% walk rate around average. But he had a .407 batting average on balls in play and a 26.1% homer to fly ball ratio, both of which are unsustainably high. His 2.86 SIERA in that stretch suggests that he was far better than his ERA would have you believe in that small sample.

Leiter was left off the Yankee roster for the ALDS and ALCS but Hamilton’s injury opens the door for him. He and the Yankees will be hoping for better fortune as they look to defeat the Guardians and move on to the World Series. They lead the ALCS two games to one with game four set to begin in Cleveland at 8:08 local time tonight.