The Milwaukee Brewers pulled the plug on the Brett Lawrie experiment Tuesday after insufficient progress was made during 3½ months of the unique project.

The Brewers signed the former major-league infielder to a minor-league deal at the outset of spring training with the understanding that he needed extensive physical rehabilitation after suffering leg and hip injuries with the Chicago White Sox in 2016. He was released by that club the following spring.

The hope was that Lawrie, 29, would eventually get back on the field with a minor-league affiliate but the process never advanced to that point, so it was mutually decided to part ways, according to Brewers president of baseball operations David Stearns.

“Everyone tried their best,” Stearns said. “Brett gave it a very good effort. I know our training staff worked hard. At this point, it just made sense to move on.

“At the front end of this, we all agreed on a tentative time frame, with certain benchmarks. We weren’t quite able to meet some of those benchmarks. So, we thought now was the right time to allow Brett to move on and allow us to devote our resources to other players.”

Asked which side decided it wasn’t going to work, Stearns said, “There was an understanding going in that there were certain benchmarks we wanted to meet. When we couldn’t get over a few of those hurdles, this was the mutual understanding.

“We had benchmarks in terms of certain rehab goals, in terms of competition goals. We just couldn’t quite get there in the time everyone thought we were going to. This allows Brett to move on with his life and career.

“He put a lot of effort into this. He spent a lot of time working with our group in Phoenix. So, it’s certainly understandable for there to be some disappointment (for Lawrie)."

The Brewers greatly expanded and improved their medical and rehab operations with a $63 million renovation of their spring training facility, renamed American Family Fields of Phoenix. They felt the experiment with Lawrie had a better chance of succeeding in those surroundings but also knew it might not work out.

“It’s one of the reasons we built to the complex, to serve as a medical hub," Stearns said. "We were able to work with a player and make some strides. Unfortunately, we were unable to get over some final hurdles.”

Upon reporting to the Brewers’ training complex, Lawrie expressed excitement over the possibility of returning to action with the organization that originally drafted him.

“It’s the ultimate opportunity for me,” he said. “I have a lot of patience… I think the plan we have in place is to make me the ultimate me. Try to bullet-proof me so once I get back on the field with baseball activity, I go out there and stay out there. That’s the goal.”

The Brewers’ agreement with Lawrie included a team option for 2020, so there was hope on both sides this project would work out and he would return to the field and continue playing. Originally drafted by Milwaukee in the first round in 2008 as a catcher out of Langley, British Columbia, Canada, he was traded to Toronto in December 2010 for pitcher Shaun Marcum.

After four years with the Blue Jays, Lawrie was traded to Oakland, then a year later to the White Sox. The second baseman/third baseman last played in July 2016 before being sidelined.

In 588 games in the majors, Lawrie is a .261 hitter with a .315 on-base percentage, .734 OPS, 71 home runs and 253 runs batted in.