The Giants on Wednesday released veteran infielder Marco Scutaro, who is attempting to come back from offseason back surgery.
Scutaro was designated for assignment Jan. 21 to make room for newly signed outfielder Norichika Aoki on the 40-man roster. A month earlier, Scutaro underwent surgery to fuse two vertebrae in his lower back. He is expected to need four to six months of recovery time.
The reigning world champions owe Scutaro $6.67 million this year.
Scutaro enjoyed late-career success with the Giants after spending the first 12 years of his career with five different teams. He hit .362 in 61 games for San Francisco in 2012 after being acquired in a trade with the Rockies on July 27 of that year. He earned MVP honors in the NLCS by batting .458/.480/.583, despite suffering a knee injury in Game 2 courtesy of a Matt Holliday takeout slide. He later helped the Giants claim their second Series title.
The hot hitting carrried over into 2013 as he batted .297/.357/.369 while earning his only All-Star selection. The back problems limited him to five games last year. San Francisco struggled to find a replacement before hitting on rookie Joe Panik late in the season.
Scutaro is a career .277/.341/.388 hitter.