Texas Rangers release Manny Ramirez

Bob Nightengale | USA TODAY Sports

Manny Ramirez, the two-time performance-enhancing drug offender who was making a last-ditch effort to resuscitate his career with the Texas Rangers, was released Tuesday by the organization.

Ramirez, 41, hitting .259 at Triple-A Round Rock with just three homers and six extra-base hits in 108 at-bats, hoped he could join the Rangers when Nelson Cruz was suspended 50 games for his role in the Biogenesis performance-enhancing drug probe. Yet, the Rangers traded for outfielder Alex Rios of the Chicago White Sox, and informed Ramirez on Tuesday that he should see if anyone else will give him a chance.

"Based on our evaluation,'' Rangers GM Jon Daniels said in a statement, "there was not a spot on the club for Manny at this time.''

Ramirez, who ranks 14th on the all-time home-run list with 555 homers, last played April 6, 2011 with the Tampa Bay Rays. He tested positive for using performance-enhancing drugs for the second time, and retired instead of serving a 100-game suspension. He returned last season and played in the minors with the Oakland A's, and Taiwan this season before joining the Rangers' minor-league team.