Cubs, right-handed pitcher Jason Hammel agree to terms on one-year contract

MESA, AZ - The Chicago Cubs and right-handed pitcher Jason Hammel have agreed to terms on a 2014 contract.   Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Hammel, 31, is 49-59 with four saves and a 4.80 ERA (528 ER/989.1 IP) in 215 major league appearances (158 starts) with Tampa Bay (2006-08), Colorado (2009-11) and Baltimore (2012-13). He has pitched primarily as a starter the last five years since joining the Rockies and is 42-43 with a 4.60 ERA (387 ER/756.2 IP) in 130 starts during that span. Hammel has a pair of 10-win seasons to his credit (2009 and 2010) and has made 20 or more starts in each of the last five seasons, including two years with 30 or more starts (2009 and 2010).

In his first season with Baltimore in 2012, Hammel went 8-6 with a 3.43 ERA (45 ER/118.0 IP) in 20 starts to help the Orioles to their first post-season appearance in 15 years, earning the starts in Game 1 and Game 5 of the American League Division Series vs. the New York Yankees (0-1, 3.18 ERA). Hammel was also a finalist in the MLB Fan Vote for the last spot on the American League All-Star team.   He followed up by going 7-8 with one save and a 4.97 ERA (77 ER/139.1 IP) in 26 appearances, all but three as a starter, with Baltimore in 2013. 

The 6-foot-6, 225-pound Hammel was originally selected by Tampa Bay in the 10th round of the 2002 Draft and made his big league debut with the club in 2006 at the age of 23. He has missed time the last couple of seasons due to arthroscopic knee surgery in 2012 and right forearm tenderness in 2013

Hammel is a native of Greenville, S.C., and graduated from South Kitsap High School in Port Orchard, Wash. He pitched collegiately at Treasure Valley Community College in Oregon.