Former All-Star closer Fernando Rodney signs with Hamilton of Ontario's Intercounty Baseball League

TORONTO (AP) — Former All-Star closer Fernando Rodney has signed to pitch for the Hamilton Cardinals of Ontario’s Intercounty Baseball League for the 2025 season.

The team announced Rodney’s signing in a release posted online Thursday.

Rodney recorded 327 saves over 17 seasons with 11 big league clubs. He led the AL with 48 saves for Seattle in 2014.

The right-hander, known for his bow and arrow celebration after recording a save, last pitched in the majors in 2019, making three World Series appearances for Washington as the Nationals beat Houston in seven games. He has since pitched in Mexico, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic.

Rodney will turn 48 in March 2025. He is one of 14 new candidates on this year’s National Baseball Hall of Fame ballot.

The nine-team Intercounty Baseball League will play its 106th season in 2025. It bills itself as “the top-level baseball league in Canada, boasting ex-MLB, MiLB and elite NCAA college baseball players.” Teams play a 42-game schedule from May to September.

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