Braves Sign Ian Hamilton To Major League Deal

The Braves announced the signing of reliever Ian Hamilton to a one-year, non-guaranteed contract. Atlanta opened a 40-man roster spot this afternoon when they ran Anthony Molina through waivers. Hamilton is represented by ALIGND Sports Agency.

Hamilton hit the market last month when he was non-tendered by the Yankees. His projected arbitration salary wasn’t far above the league minimum, but he had spent the final two months of the season on optional assignment to Triple-A. Hamilton made 36 appearances before being sent down. He pitched 40 innings of 4.28 ERA ball, striking out a quarter of opponents against a worrisome 13.3% walk rate.

The 30-year-old righty has pitched parts of six MLB seasons between the White Sox, Twins and Yankees. He had a career-best 2.64 ERA behind a 29% strikeout rate for New York back in 2023. His production hasn’t been as strong over the past couple years. Hamilton’s grounder rates have fallen while the free passes jumped this year. He gets plus swing-and-miss rates on his slider but hasn’t gotten great results on his sinker over the past couple seasons.

The 2025 season was Hamilton’s third and final minor league option year. He’ll battle for a middle relief spot in camp. If he doesn’t make the Opening Day roster, the Braves would need to take him off the 40-man and either trade him or run him through waivers. Hamilton has between three and five years of MLB service time. He’d therefore have the right to decline an outright assignment and elect free agency if the Braves run him through waivers unclaimed, but doing so would mean forfeiting his salary.

Atlanta doesn’t have a ton of roster flexibility with regards to the bullpen. Raisel Iglesias. Robert Suarez and Aaron Bummer are locked in at the back end. Dylan Lee has two minor league options but is certainly going to be on the roster. Hamilton, Joel Payamps, Danny Young and swing options Bryce Elder, Grant Holmes, José Suarez and Joey Wentz are all out of options. While an injury or two in Spring Training could open roster space, they’re certainly not going to have room for all those pitchers on Opening Day.

Note: This post initially incorrectly referred to Hamilton’s contract as a split deal.