Jason Hammel returns from disabled list to face Yankees

By Aaron GleemanSep 6, 2012, 5:12 PM EST
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UPDATE: As expected, Hammel is officially back from the DL and will face New York tonight.

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Baltimore’s rotation will get a boost Thursday when Jason Hammel comes off the disabled list to face the Yankees.

Hammel has been out since mid-July with a knee injury that required surgery, but before being shut down he was the Orioles’ best starter with a 3.54 ERA and 106/39 K/BB ratio in 109 innings.

Hammel convinced the Orioles that he’s ready to return by tossing five scoreless innings Saturday at Single-A and manager Buck Showalter signed off on putting him back into the rotation following a bullpen session yesterday.

Angels sign Cody Allen to a one year, $8.5 million deal

Jason Miller/Getty Images
By Bill BaerJan 17, 2019, 11:33 PM EST
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Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that the Angels and reliever Cody Allen are in agreement on a one-year contract, pending a physical. The value of the contract is not yet known. UPDATE: Per Rosenthal, the deal is done at one year, $8.5 million.

Allen, 30, was looking for an opportunity to close and the Angels can certainly provide that. He will likely be the favorite to break camp as the closer. 2018 was the roughest year of his career, however, as he finished with a 4.70 ERA, 27 saves, and a 80/33 K/BB ratio in 67 innings. Among Allen’s six full seasons, his 27.7 strikeout rate and 11.4 percent walk rate represented career-worsts. FanGraphs also shows him losing nearly a full MPH on his average fastball velocity.

The Angels lost closer Keynan Middleton to Tommy John surgery early last season and he likely won’t return until the second half of the 2019 season. Blake Parker, who handled save situations in Middleton’s place, was non-tendered by the Angels in November and ended up signing with the Twins. The closer’s role is Allen’s to lose, it seems.