ATLANTA -- The Atlanta Braves did everything they could over the last year to find a team willing to trade for struggling second baseman Dan Uggla.

There were no takers.

Uggla's frustrating, four-year tenure with the Braves ended Friday when the team requested unconditional release waivers on a former starter still guaranteed over $18 million for the remainder of this year and next.

"We've been very active making calls for the last month," general manager Frank Wren said. "We got to a point where we realized that this was probably our only avenue."

After batting just .179 with 171 strikeouts last season, Dan Uggla continued to struggle this year, batting .162 with two home runs in 48 games. Mike McGinnis/Getty Images

Uggla received the news during an early afternoon meeting at Turner Field with Wren and manager Fredi Gonzalez.

"He was professional, just like he always has been and always will be," Gonzalez said. "Now he goes out and he can explore other opportunities. Somebody will give him a chance, and we wish him the best of luck."

In his fourth season with the Braves, the 34-year-old Uggla was batting .162 with two home runs and 10 RBIs in 48 games and 130 at-bats.

He had a 33-game hitting streak in 2011, the franchise's second-longest, but also struck out 495 times in 451 games over the last three years.

Uggla was benched permanently on May 28 when the Braves purchased the contract of second baseman Tommy La Stella from Triple-A Gwinnett.

The team's patience with Uggla appeared to wear thin last Sunday when he was suspended one game for reporting just 30 minutes before the start of a game at the Chicago Cubs.

Uggla, a three-time NL All-Star, hit .179 with 22 homers and 55 RBIs last year and underwent corrective eye surgery last summer. He struggled so much that he was left off the postseason roster after losing his job to Elliot Johnson, a journeyman claimed off waivers in late August.

The Braves reinserted Uggla as the starter at the beginning of spring training this year, but he hit .212 in April and .080 in 25 at-bats during May.