CLEVELAND, Ohio — Hanley Ramirez has cleared waivers and chosen to become a free agent after he was designated for assignment last week by the Cleveland Indians, the club announced Tuesday.

Ramirez, 35, joined the Indians in spring training as a non-roster invitee on a minor-league contract. He made the club’s opening day roster as the designated hitter, batting .184 in 49 at-bats across 16 games. Ramirez hit a pair of home runs and drove in eight with eight walks and 17 strikeouts.

He was designated on Saturday when the Indians activated Francisco Lindor from the 10-day injured list. Manager Terry Francona said the move was made knowing that Lindor would act as a designated hitter on occasion as he returns to the lineup following calf and ankle injuries.

“It just put us in a little bit of a hole where we didn’t have another infielder and if Frankie’s gonna do some DH-ing,” Francona said. “Hanley was about as professional as you could be, and I wanted to make sure people understood this was a baseball decision.”

Francona called Ramirez a “model citizen” during his time with the Indians. The phrase rings true in more than one sense, as Ramirez, along with Carlos Santana, passed his U.S. Citizenship test after studying for the exam during spring training.

“I know he wants to keep playing and I hope he does because he handled himself so well,” Francona said.

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