Dumped Twice in Five Days, Yankees Veteran Speaks Out

Ottavino, who pitched for the Yankees in 2019 -20, rejoined the Yankees to temporarily fill the bullpen gap left by closer Devin Williams, who was on a three-day paternity leave.

“Yeah, well, Devin Williams was on the paternity list that only lasted three days, so I knew he was coming back. So the clock was ticking."

During his brief stint, Ottavino made two appearances, delivering scoreless outings. Still Ottavino knew what was coming. He acknowledged the Yankees' transparency throughout the process.

"They were upfront with that. They were great. I have a good relationship with those people over there, a lot of love for them,” Ottavino said.

And very quickly, the Yankees were reaching out again.

After two straight short outings by starters, forcing their bullpen to cover 11 ⅓ innings, the Yankees needed a fresh arm for Monday. Ottavino was re-signed and added to the active roster to fill in until right-hander Ian Hamilton could officially come off the injured list.

He made an appearance, allowing two batters to walk in ⅓ of an inning.

Ottavino expressed his appreciation for each major league opportunity.

"Every day in the big leagues is precious. I’ve had a lot of them, but I don’t take them for granted."

However, with Hamilton's reinstatement before Tuesday’s game. Ottavino faced another DFA. Reflecting on the rapid changes, he said, "It’s a weird situation, but I think handled it as good as you can. Went in there and did what I could."