Joba Chamberlain made his first relief appearance since being named a member of the Yankees’ bullpen — and not their starting rotation — during Saturday’s spring game against the Tigers. He threw a scoreless inning, allowing two hits but also racking up a strikeout. The 24-year-old had a 14.09 ERA and a 2.48 WHIP over his first 7 2/3 innings of Grapefruit League play and officially lost the Yanks’ final rotation spot to Phil Hughes this week. Chamberlain had a 2.84 ERA and a 7/1 K/BB ratio in 6 1/3 innings out of the bullpen during last year’s playoffs and should do well in a setup role this season.
Shawn Tolleson retires from baseball
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Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports that reliever Shawn Tolleson is retiring from baseball. The right-hander experienced a setback in his recovery from Tommy John surgery last week.
Tolleson, who turns 31 years old on Saturday, last pitched in the majors in 2016. He had two very good years out of the bullpen for the Rangers in 2014-15, posting an aggregate 2.88 ERA with 145 strikeouts and 45 walks across 144 innings.
Tolleson signed a one-year deal with the Rays in January 2017 before undergoing Tommy John surgery several months later. The Rangers inked him to a minor league contract in December 2017, but he wasn’t able to work his way back.
