El Duque a free agent again after Rangers release him from a Triple-A contract

Rangers release El Duque from Triple-A contract

ARLINGTON, Texas — El Duque’s comeback attempt with the Texas Rangers has ended.

Texas released Orlando Hernandez from his minor league contract Friday, making the right-hander a free agent just more than a month after he signed.

Hernandez was 2-0 with a 2.45 ERA in eight relief appearances for Triple-A Oklahoma City since being activated three weeks ago. He had 12 strikeouts and four walks in 11 innings.

General manager Jon Daniels said the Rangers had no plans to add Hernandez to their major league roster by Monday, when the pitcher would have been able to opt out of the contract.

“The reports that we got were about what you would expect stuff-wise. … The velocity was not an issue or anything like that, just rust,” Daniels said. “With more time and innings, he may very well be ready, but he had the out in his contract and he was going to take it.”

Hernandez last pitched in the majors for the New York Mets in 2007 before toe surgery. He made four appearances in the Mets’ minor league system last season.

Hernandez won World Series rings with the New York Yankees in 1998, 1999 and 2000, and with the Chicago White Sox in 2005. He was the 1999 ALCS MVP.

The Cuban pitcher’s age has been questioned at times, and is listed as high as 43 by some accounts. The Rangers said he was 39 when they signed him last month, though Daniels sounded less certain about that Friday.

“Ask the Census bureau,” he said.

Hernandez is 90-65 with a 4.13 ERA in 211 starts and eight relief appearances for the Yankees (1998-2002, 2004), White Sox (2005), Arizona (2006) and Mets (2006-07).

Texas would have used Hernandez as a reliever, but didn’t expect to have a spot for him anytime soon.

“The guys in the bullpen right now have pitched very well. (Pitching coach) Mike Maddux made the point who really deserves to lose their job,” Daniels said. “That was as much a part of it as anything.”

The Rangers also have converted hard-throwing 21-year-old Neftali Feliz from a starter to a reliever at Oklahoma City in preparation for his major league debut.

“We just felt Feliz was probably ahead of (Hernandez) as far as internal options that we would go to first,” Daniels said.