The New York Yankees made the announcement official on Monday that they are signing Cody Bellinger to a five-year MLB contract, but no corresponding move has been made to make room for Bellinger on the 40-man roster. That was until Tuesday, when the Yankees X page announced they had claimed pitcher Dom Hamel off waivers from the Texas Rangers, and designated Marco Luciano and Jayvien Sandridge for assignment.
It’s been a tough offseason for Marco Luciano, who is feeling the ugly wrath of MLB’s DFA limbo. He’s been designated and claimed several times this offseason, and at this point, one has to hope he can find a team that will keep him for longer than a week.
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The two players DFA’d open up room on the Yankees’ 40-man roster for both Dom Hamel and Cody Bellinger.
Hamel was drafted by the New York Mets in 2021 and is still just 26 years old. He’s another player who has gone through a bit of a DFA limbo this offseason, but for what it’s worth, he pitched in 1 major league inning in 2025 with the Mets, gave up three hits in that single inning, but did not surrender a run.
Whether it be with the Yankees or another MLB club, BaseballReference.com projects Hamel to pitch in 25 innings in 2026 and post a modest 3.96 ERA.
GettyNEW YORK, NEW YORK – OCTOBER 02: Cody Bellinger #35 of the New York Yankees rounds third base during the fourth inning against the Boston Red Sox in game three of the American League Wild Card Series at Yankee Stadium on October 02, 2025 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
It’s unclear if he will stay on the Yankees’ big-league club, as Marco Luciano didn’t last a full seven days with New York, but the team remains active in terms of shifting pieces around, which could set up for a potential signing in the future.
New York had to get rid of one position player to clear room for Cody Bellinger, and the swap for DFA a pitcher and claiming a pitcher might set Brian Cashman up to bring in a free agent, and then DFA Hamel in the process.
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MLB Spring Training Looms
As January is set to end this week, it’s time to turn all eyes towards MLB spring training, which is just a few weeks away, and is the official start to the 2026 season, as pitchers and catchers will report to camp first, and then exhibition games will get going in just under a month.
For the Yankees, spring training will be an important time to see what depth they have in the farm system. With their roster pretty much complete and most of the positions on the field taken already, the only big storylines of spring camp might be how the young prospects in the organization perform.
Either way, the MLB offseason is almost over, and Yankees’ fans are likely tired of hearing about how little the team has done this winter in terms of additions, and instead, let the product on the field from March-September speak for itself.
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