The Yankees announced that they have claimed right-hander Dom Hamel off waivers from the Rangers. They also designated left-hander Jayvien Sandridge and outfielder Marco Luciano for assignment. The two DFAs open roster spots for Hamel and for Cody Bellinger, whose five-year deal was made official yesterday. Texas designated Hamel for assignment a week ago when they signed Jakob Junis.
Hamel, 27 in March, just made his major league debut not too long ago. He tossed a scoreless inning for the Mets on September 17th, which is still his only big league appearance. Shortly thereafter, the Mets put him on waivers, with the Orioles and Rangers claiming him in quick succession. Texas held him for a few months but put him back on the wire this week.
The righty came up through the Mets’ system as a starting pitcher but a lack of control pushed him to the bullpen in 2025. He logged 67 2/3 innings over 31 Triple-A appearances last year. 11 of those were officially starts but they were mostly in opener style. His 5.32 earned run average wasn’t great but he did strike out 25.2% of batters faced and showed improved control with a 7.4% walk rate. His four-seamer and sinker both averaged in the low 90s while he also mixed in a cutter, slider and changeup.
Hamel still has a couple of options, so the Yankees could keep him as depth in the minors. They could also try putting him back on waivers in the future. He doesn’t have a previous career outright and has less than three years of service time, which means he would not have the right to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency.
Speaking of players getting put back on waivers, that’s been the story of Luciano’s offseason. Once a top prospect, his stock has dropped as he has exhausted his option years. That has pushed him to a fringe roster position and it seems that there are several clubs hoping to be the one to pass him through waivers, at which point he could be kept in the minors as non-roster depth. He finished the 2025 season with the Giants but has subsequently gone to the Pirates, Orioles and Yankees via the waiver wire.
He has a rough career batting line of .217/.286/.304 in his big league career while striking out in 35.7% of his plate appearances. His Triple-A line of .227/.351/.401 is better but came in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League and still saw him strike out 29.6% of the time. He was moved from the middle infield to left field last year, which only put more pressure on him to produce offensively.
The numbers have not been great but Luciano is only 24 years old and was a top 100 prospect not too long ago. His service time is still under a year, meaning he can theoretically be retained for six full seasons by some club. It’s understandable that teams would hope to have that player on hand in case he does finally break out. Now that he’s in DFA limbo once more, he will be on the move again or outrighted in the next week.
Sandridge, 27 next month, got a major league roster spot for the first time with the Yankees last year. He made just one appearance, which came against the Mets on July 5th. He was given a rude awakening, as he walked Juan Soto and then allowed a home run to Pete Alonso. He settled down somewhat by striking out Brandon Nimmo and Mark Vientos, but then walked Luis Torrens and hit Jeff McNeil with a pitch before being removed.
That one appearance has some commonalities with his minor league track record, which has featured lots of strikeouts but a lack of control. He tossed 36 2/3 innings on the farm for the Yankees last year with a 4.66 ERA. He struck out 32.7% of batters faced but issued 19 walks, an 11.4% pace. He also hit three more batters and tossed six wild pitches. He averaged around 95 miles per hour with his four-seamer and sinker while also throwing a splitter and slider.
He will now be in DFA limbo for a week at most. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the Yankees could take five days to field trade interest, but they could also put him on the wire sooner. Since he has a couple of options, he could have appeal if there’s a club that is both intrigued by the arsenal and looking for some extra relief depth.
Photo courtesy of Sam Navarro, Imagn Images
Is that an ex Met i see there going to the Yanks? Sound the alarms, here we go.
another Mets-centric comment, like there’s any significance that some random marginalia once was on the Mets
It’s a joke playing off the fact that it’s exactly what a ton of Yankees fans say when the Mets acquire a former Yankee. When in reality the Yankees have signed more former Mets.
C’mon, does a 2 minute claim stake realllllllyyyyyy count as an ex-Whatever?
@Chris… Thank you!! Don’t know how that sarcasm wasn’t noticed.
@Mengis… If you didn’t catch the sarcasm in the comment then…
it’s not that I didn’t notice that it wasn’t light-hearted sarcasm, it’s the fact that this fact drew any notice at all, I mean the fact this guy was a Met is the only reason for the comment in the first place, that’s what I mean by the clinical term “Metsocentric”
@Mengis… it goes both ways so im sure you were saying the same when Yankee fans were commenting on the same fact turned around.
It’s petty no matter where it comes from is the point. Hence the sarcasm.
fans here do that back and forth but I never did b/c of the sense it made for both teams to get guys familiar with playing in NYC. If I had to guess, I would say the yankees have gotten more in numbers from the mets then vice cersa, though Mets have gotten more of the better players
Man, Yankees always picking up Mets discards
Where’s that commenter who used to be counted on for saying ‘dumpster diving’ Theo’ re cubs? He should be all over this situation.
Hahaha Mets reject
Off season is officially over!!!
The Luciano DFA Carousel continues to spin
There was a talented outfielder in the 50’s named Harry “Suitcase” Simpson. I think Marco has rightfully claimed that name now, though not as talented as Simpson.
Marco “Luggage” Luciano ?
He certainly isn’t Lucky, this Luciano kid.
Maybe it’s time to go to Asia and rebuild that prospect status.
And the wheel goes round and round, round and round.
Perry Como. But he didn’t have much of a glove either.
What’s the record for most teams in 1 offseason? He’s gotta be getting close
Marco’s next claim will be the record at 5 in one off-season… uhhhh, big daddy!?!?
If they are going down the waiver wire order, they must be getting near the end.
Matt Baumann has transaction record that requires a drink to read 🤣🍻🤣
Him and Osvaldo Bido. It must be unsettling waiting to see where you will end up.
Has Bido already been on four teams? I’ve lost count in his case.
Feels like a Perry special
Minasian has passed on Luciano 3 times already this off-season, now things are different?
@P2BNL the angels just claimed Bido after passing on him 3 times earlier this offseason. These waiver claims are like a game of musical chairs where they’re trying to grab depth and hoping to be the team holding them when the music stops and 60 day IL is opened.
[edit] Dang, jimmy ray beat me to it
Marco quoted ; Guess I’ll go eat worms.
Marco is going to end up in Japan or Mexico somehow, at this rate
Probably wouldn’t be a bad idea at this point.
I think it would be funny if in the end he elects free agency and signs a minor league deal with the giants
He’d do it just to stop moving 57 times a month.
I think Giants have seen enough.
He’ll end up in the KBO, win MVP and the Giants will sign him for $113M/6.
Sorry but Sandridge and Luciano looked far more interesting than this guy with high walk rate.
Hamel is better than Sandridge, I promise. The Yankees made a slight improvement in their pen depth
Yeah, oh well. I liked both of those guys. And you were probably right on Vivas earlier. He’s still young enough to turn into something.
At this level of 40-man marginalia, I am inclined to defer to a team’s internal calculations of what the player is good/bad at and what the team is good at improving and utilizing. I just really don’t know enough about the relative strengths and weaknesses of Jayvien Sandridge and Dom Hamel to judge this kind of transaction. I do have a fairly high level of confidence that neither is consequential enough for the move to matter much.
Luciano should be a Cardinal, Rockie or White Sox player.
The Marlins and Twins could also make room.
This DFA merry-go-round should stop. A rebuilding team needs to take a chance on this kid and give him half a season in MLB to see what he can do.
This kid is right. He’s 24, born the day before 9/11.
He was below average in the PCL last year which is actually really bad considering that’s usually a bandbox league for hitters. A player with 70 grade power should be hitting 30-40+ homers in AAA with ease but he’s barely hitting 20-25. He strikes out a ton, even against inferior pitching.
Luciano is not lucky, he is becoming a well traveled DFA
He’s probably not moved an inch from a beach chair in the DR, watching his non- comings and goings!
well he is playing in DR for Toros del Este with 12AB and 1 hit and a solid 8Ks
Cashman with a thing for them ex Mets
What is a Dom Hamel?
@BrianAshman… LOL Exactly
Gotta give Dom, some credit he pitched 1 inning gave up 3 hits and hit a batter without giving up a run
tons of marco luciano news this offseason
The Yankees musical chairs continues. Cashman add one, drop one, and so on and on. I still think teams need to goto a 45 man roster or something.
Ya the dodgers need a few more all stars to really have a chance to contend
I bet that’s one of the concessions owners have to consider when they try pushing for a salary cap in next year’s CBA.
Waivers is the next best thing to free agency. Why is it assumed that players dislike the process? A 45 man roster would just create a lower tier of fringe roster players. Additionally, Luciano is out of options so it doesn’t matter what the roster limit is in his case.
Unlucky Luciano.
He’s ruining Don Giovanni!
They were joking on the Giant podcast that Luciano should get a hat and merch from every team he was a member of a minute
Donations! Donations! Oh! I thought it was the trash!
Another off season DFA for Marco is why I support additional roster space for this time of the season that can be reduced during spring training.
I smell a Hollywood story in the making: “From DFA To Cooperstown – The Marco Luciano Story”
Luciano keeps showing up and yelling “Marco!” for his new team, just to keep hearing “Polo!” from off in the distance.
Luciano just can’t locked in with a team
Collective Bargaining negotiations will need to address how many times a player can be DFAd during an offseason
Possibly –
1) A player can only be DFA 2 times & cannot be done after Jan 15th
2) If another team signs the player after 2nd DFA the player will be considered equivalent to a Rule 5 player & remain on team’s 26-man roster for the season or
3) Player agrees to be assigned to AAA & be paid MLB minimum salary
Luciano 4 DFA this offseason – Giants, Pirates, Orioles, Yankees