Major League Baseball announced it has approved a roster change for the right-hander for the Yankees Ian Hamilton replaced by co-right Mark Leiter Jr. Playoff rules dictate that a player removed due to injury is ineligible to play in that series and the next, so Hamilton is ineligible to play in the World Series if the Yankees advance.

The move doesn’t come out of nowhere, as Hamilton was removed from last night’s game against the Guardians with an injury he appeared to sustain while covering first base with a ground ball. The Yankees described his injury as tightness in the left calf and it now appears the injury is serious enough that they felt forced to make a move.

This could be because they do not expect Hamilton back in the coming weeks, or simply because they do not want to play with few players in the coming days. The Yanks are about to play their second of three straight games and used six relievers in last night’s ten-inning game, which they ultimately lost. Even if there was a chance that Hamilton’s calf would heal later in this series or in the World Series, they might need the extra arm to get through tonight and tomorrow.

Hamilton, 29, was not the main arm in the manager Aaron Boone‘s bullpen. Last night’s performance was only his second of this year’s playoffs. But he was solid during the regular season, making 35 appearances with a 3.82 average. He struck out 25.2% of batters, walked 8.2% and got grounders on 43.8% of balls in play. He earned one save and 11 holds this year, with the latter total ranking third behind the team behind him Lucas Weaver And Tommy Kahnle.

Leiter, 33, had some strong recent results with the Cubs but struggled in a deadline deal that sent him to the Bronx. From the start of 2022 until the trade, he posted a 3.85 ERA in 168 1/3 innings for the Cubs. In that time, he had a 28.9% strikeout rate, 8.8% walk rate, and 47.8% groundball rate.

In late July, the Yanks sent minor leaguers Ben Cowles And Jack Neely to the Cubs to acquire Leiter, but he posted a 4.98 ERA in his 21 games for the Yanks after that deal. While many Yankee fans groan at the mere mention of Leiter’s name, the baseball gods were seemingly responsible for many of those runs.

As a Yankee, Leiter’s 39% groundball rate was below average, but his 31.7% strikeout rate was strong and his 8.7% walk rate was around average. But he had a .407 batting average on balls in play and a 26.1% homer-to-fly-ball ratio, both of which are unsustainably high. His SIERA of 2.86 in that stretch suggests he was much better than his ERA would lead one to believe in that small sample size.

Leiter was not on the Yankee roster for the ALDS and ALCS, but Hamilton’s injury opens the door for him. He and the Yankees will be hoping for better luck as they look to defeat the Guardians and advance to the World Series. They led the ALCS two games to one, with game four set to begin tonight at 8:08 local time in Cleveland.