Phillies' JD Hammer: Optioned to Lehigh Valley

Hammer was optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Friday, Matt Breen of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

The right-hander has endured a rough month of September that was topped off by allowing five runs on four hits and a walk across just one-third of an inning during Thursday's win over the Cubs. Hammer held a tidy 1.65 ERA and 1.16 WHIP at the conclusion of August, so the Phillies will hope he can regain that form with Lehigh Valley and become an option to rejoin the major-league bullpen before season's end. Reliever Damon Jones was called up to take Hammer's spot on the 28-man roster.