Orioles place Colby Rasmus on the restricted list, potentially marking the end of his career

Rasmus is walking away again

By R.J. Anderson

Jul 3, 2018 at 6:41 pm ET • 1 min read

Remember last season when Colby Rasmus, then playing for the Tampa Bay Rays, walked away midseason and was placed on the restricted list?

Rasmus returned to baseball this offseason, joining the Baltimore Orioles on a minor-league deal. Yet after making 18 big-league appearances, it appears that he's chosen to hang up his cleats again:

The Orioles have placed OF Colby Rasmus on the restricted list.
— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) July 3, 2018

Colby Rasmus told Buck Showalter today that he was going to go home and discontinue his career, and the Orioles honored that, Buck said.
— Jon Meoli (@JonMeoli) July 3, 2018

Rasmus had missed significant time due to a left hip flexor strain that sidelined him for more than two months. He didn't perform well when he was active, hitting just .133/.204/.222 with 19 strikeouts in 49 plate appearances.

If this is the end for Rasmus -- and here's hoping his decision to end his career has more to do with a desire to spend time with his family than anything else -- then he'll finish having appeared in parts of 10 big-league seasons while batting .241/.310/.436 with 166 home runs.