Cleveland Indians release Ben Francisco

The Cleveland Indians have released outfielder Ben Francisco, the team has announced.

In related roster moves, the Indians have selected the contract of left-hander Rich Hill and placed right-hander Blake Wood on the 60-day disabled list.

Cleveland signed Francisco to a minor league contract that included an invitation to major league spring training in January. Before being released by the Indians, the 31-year-old hit .400/.520/.700 with six doubles and two RBI over 25 plate appearances this spring.

This spring marked Francisco's second stint with the Indians. His first was significantly longer, as he was drafted by Cleveland in 2002 and remained with the team through '09. That season, he was dealt to the Philadelphia Phillies in the Cliff Lee trade.

Francisco spent parts of three seasons with the Phillies -- hitting .259/.332/.420 -- before bouncing around between the Toronto Blue Jays, Houston Astros and Tampa Bay Rays. He spent the 2012 season with the trio of teams, hitting a combined .240/.285/.385 with 14 doubles and four home runs over 207 plate appearances.

Francisco owns a career batting line of .257/.326/.425 over six seasons in the majors. While he manned all three outfield positions earlier in his career, he's been used strictly as a corner outfielder since 2011.