Atlanta Braves right-hander Ian Hamilton has elected free agency, according to the MiLB transaction log, closing a short and uneven stay in the Braves organization.
It is the standard end-of-season filing for a player who finished the year in the minors rather than on a major-league roster.
Hamilton’s last organizational entry before that was with Triple-A Gwinnett, which placed him on the temporarily inactive list on September 7 and activated him on September 15.
The 31-year-old never settled into a defined role in Atlanta. The Braves signed him as a free agent on December 19, 2025, after he elected free agency on November 21 when the New York Yankees non-tendered him.
The deal was reported as a one-year contract worth $1.05 million. He did not make the Opening Day roster. On March 19 the Braves sent him outright to the Gwinnett Stripers.
From there the year became a shuttle. Atlanta selected his contract on April 16, designated him for assignment on April 22 after a rough debut, and outrighted him back to Gwinnett on April 24 once he cleared waivers.
The club called him up again on June 24, designated him for assignment on July 3, and outrighted him to Gwinnett on July 5. He accepted the assignment each time rather than walking away midseason.
In the majors he made four relief appearances and did not factor in a decision. He allowed four earned runs in 4⅔ innings, a 7.71 ERA, with four strikeouts, three walks and a 1.93 WHIP.
He faced the Cardinals twice in late June and early July and the Padres once on June 24. The sample is tiny, but it was enough for the Braves to keep cycling him off the 40-man roster.
He is out of minor-league options, so any return to the big leagues required a roster move.
The major-league line does not match the rest of his career. Hamilton, a Dover, New Hampshire, native drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the 11th round out of Washington State in 2016, has pitched for the White Sox, Minnesota Twins, Yankees and Braves.
Across 129 games and 155 innings he is 6-6 with a 3.72 ERA, 165 strikeouts and three saves. His best recent work came in New York, where he was a regular bullpen piece in 2023 and 2024 before a 4.28 ERA in 36 appearances and 40 innings in 2025.
Electing free agency puts him back on the open market for the second straight winter.
Clubs looking for a veteran slider-heavy reliever with big-league experience and no remaining options will be able to sign him to a major- or minor-league deal once the offseason market opens in earnest.
