SATURDAY: The Giants have released Francoeur, according to the MLB.com transactions page. (Thanks to Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com for the heads up.)

TUESDAY: The Giants have designated outfielder Jeff Francoeur for assignment, the team announced via Twitter (hat tip to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle). The move (along with a DL trip for Chad Gaudin) will clear 25-man roster space to allow San Francisco to recall pitchers Mike Kickham and Jean Machi. It also opens a 40-man spot, Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea.com notes on Twitter.

Francoeur was inked to a minor league deal by the Giants in July after being released by the Royals. Perhaps hoping for another mid-career resurgence, club and player were left disappointed. During his time in San Francisco, Francoeur posted an anemic .194/.206/.226 line, with no home runs, over 63 plate appearances. The CSE client is still just 29 years old, but has failed to hit at a league-average rate (let alone regain his early-career form) since his 2011 renaissance year in Kansas City.

You can keep an eye on players who have been designated using MLBTR's new DFA Tracker. Francoeur joins Wade LeBlanc of the Astros and Sean O'Sullivan of the Padres among players currently in DFA limbo.