Jamie Moyer Designated for Assignment by Rockies

The Colorado Rockies have decided to designate veteran starting pitcher Jamie Moyer for assignment.  Despite his rocky start to the 2012 season, Moyer told reporters that he hopes to continue pitching in the majors and isn’t considering retirement at this point.

After taking the 2011 season off to recover from Tommy John surgery, Moyer signed a minor league deal with the Rockies this offseason.  Beating the odds, Moyer broke camp with the Rockies as a member of their Opening Day starting rotation.

The Rockies believed that Moyer still had something to provide at the major league level, at least until they were ready to hand the ball to their young crop of pitching prospects.

While Moyer posted an ERA of 3.14 over his five April starts, the wheels began falling off in May.  This month Moyer turned in an ERA of 8.64, as the 49-year-old surrendered 13 earned runs over his past two starts spanning only 8 2/3 innings.

On the season, Moyer has maintained an ERA and WHIP of 5.70 and 1.733 with 6.0 SO/9 and 3.0 BB/9.  Moyer’s already slow fastball dipped in velocity as he rebounded from Tommy John surgery, and Rockies manager Jim Tracy said there wasn’t much difference between it and Moyer’s off-speed pitches.

Moyer became the oldest starting pitcher to collect a win this year.  Moyer, who turns 50 in November, has now spent 25 seasons at the major league level, compiling 269 wins over that span.

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