The Yankees announced that they have designated right-hander Dom Hamel for assignment. That’s the corresponding move for their claim of outfielder Yanquiel Fernández, a move that was previously reported.
Hamel, 27 in March, got to make a brief major league debut with the Mets last year. He tossed a scoreless inning on September 17th but has been riding the DFA carousel ever since then. He went to the Orioles and Rangers via waiver claims before September was even finished. Texas held him for a few months but gave him another DFA in January. The Yankees claimed him but have now sent him back into DFA limbo again just over a week later.
With that tiny major league résumé, teams are surely focusing on his minor league work. He came up as a starter with the Mets but showed a lack of control and got nudged to the bullpen last year. He pitched 67 2/3 innings over 31 Triple-A outings in 2025, with 11 of those technically starts but with Hamel mostly working as an Opener. His four-seamer and sinker both sat in the low-90s on average while he also threw a cutter, slider and changeup.
He posted a 5.32 earned run average, which is obviously not a sexy number, but his 7.4% walk rate demonstrated much better control. He also punched out 25.2% of opponents faced. There’s clearly enough here for teams to have some interest, but it seems they are likely hoping to pass him through waivers in order to keep Hamel as non-roster depth, hence the cycle of claims and DFAs. Hamel doesn’t have a previous outright and is shy of three years of service, so he wouldn’t have the right to elect free agency if he were to clear waivers.
The Yanks will likely put him back out on waivers soon. They technically could wait as long as five days but start the process sooner. Most teams currently have full 40-man rosters but the 60-day injured list opens up next week, which will give some clubs extra flexibility for fringe roster moves.
Photo courtesy of Sam Navarro, Imagn Images
