Phillies claim relief pitcher on waivers

The Philadelphia Phillies claimed reliever Ian Hamilton off of waivers Monday. The move was announced by the Seattle Mariners, Hamilton’s previous employer.

Hamilton was an 11th round draft pick by the Chicago White Sox in the 2016 MLB Draft after a collegiate career at Washington State. Hamilton has made appearances at the major league level in 2018 and 2020 seasons, posting a 4.50 ERA and 5.84 FIP in 14 career major league appearances, all for the White Sox.

The 25-year-old’s pitching repertoire features a mid-90s fourseam fastball, along with a change-up and a slider. The Phillies were likely intrigued by a 2018 minor league campaign where Hamilton posted a 1.74 ERA in 43 games between Double-A and Triple-A. Multiple injuries, including facial fractures he sustained after having a ball lined off of his face, caused him to miss nearly all of 2019, though he isn’t that far removed from having a strong season at the highest levels of the minor leagues.

Will Hamilton be on Joe Girardi’s opening day lineup in 2021? Probably not, but considering that the team had a historically-bad bullpen in 2020, it can’t hurt to build organization depth.

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