The Houston Astros have designated Rick Ankiel for assignment.
Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow had high hopes for Ankiel, whom he watched blossom into a potent outfielder while both were with the Cardinals.
Ankiel hit just .194 in 25 games this season with five homers, 11 RBIs and a whopping 35 strikeouts in 62 at-bats this season.
"Rick Ankiel is a class guy, and I really like him both as a baseball player and as a person," Luhnow said.
"We brought him in here to help our younger kids, to mentor them and help out on the field. I really appreciate everything he did for us. The reality is the team is not where we wanted to be at this point and we feel like outfield is one of our weakest positions, and we wanted to give some guys who are having some success at Triple-A a chance to continue that up here."