San Francisco Giants release Mark Teahen

Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Mark Teahen has been released by the San Francisco Giants. The veteran infielder had been in camp on a minor league deal that he’d signed with the organization just before the start of Spring Training but he failed to make an impact while in the team’s minor league camp.

Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle first relayed the news.

Teahen’s career has following an interesting arc. Originally drafted by the Oakland Athletics, Teahen would be traded to the Kansas City Royals as part of the three team deal that shipped Carlos Beltran to Houston prior to the 2004 trade deadline. He’d arrived in the Major Leagues in 2005 with the Royals to little fanfare. While his rookie season was respectable, it was the second and third years of his career that truly started to show what Teahen was capable of as he’d combine to hit .287/.354/.455. He’d look to be a key part of the Royals future, particularly in the coming seasons as he’d continue show a defensive versatility (playing third base, first base, and right field) that is largely considered valuable in the game today.

Kansas City traded Teahen to the Chicago White Sox in November 2009, where he’d play for the next season and a half before ending up with the Toronto Blue Jays. He’s been out of the Major Leagues since the end of the 2011 season. Over the past two seasons he’s spent time at Triple-A in the Washington Nationals, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Texas Rangers organizations and has also spent time with the York Revolution of the independent Atlantic League.

Teahen is a .264/.327/.409 career hitter in just over 3,100 plate appearances over seven seasons. At 32 and this far removed from being a regular Major Leaguer it’s hard to predict whether or not this could be the end of his career.