Hammel announced Saturday that he will retire from professional baseball, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports.

EDGE Analysis

Hammel's decision is a surprising one after the Rangers informed a day earlier that he would break camp with the big club as a long reliever. Rather than as a result of any dissatisfaction with his projected role, Hammel opted for retirement after determining that spending more time with his family was a greater priority at this point, according to general manager Jon Daniels. The 13-year veteran wraps up his career with a 96-114 record and 4.62 ERA across 377 big-league appearances (298 starts).