Orioles' Rasmus leaves team, placed on restricted list

PHILADELPHIA (AP) Colby Rasmus is leaving the Baltimore Orioles after struggling to play through a left hip injury for two seasons.

Baltimore placed the outfielder on the restricted list after he told the club Tuesday he was leaving. Rasmus informed manager Buck Showalter of his decision prior to a game against the Phillies.

''Colby talked to me this afternoon and said he made the decision to go home and discontinue playing,'' Showalter said. ''We're going to honor that. Give him the privacy he's due, and hope everything is for the best. Wish him well, and we'll see what the future brings.''

Rasmus was hitting .133 with one homer in 18 games this season after signing a one-year, $3 million deal in the offseason. A 2005 first-round pick of the Cardinals, Rasmus left Tampa Bay in midseason last year after dealing with similar hip problems.

He hit his only homer on June 21 on the same day he was activated from the 60-day DL with a left hip flexor strain, but he was hitless in his last 11 at-bats.

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