Giants designate Marco Scutaro for assignment, expect to retain him

The Giants have designated infielder Marco Scutaro for assignment but expect to retain him, according to a report from Hank Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. The move was made to clear a 40-man roster spot for Nori Aoki, who signed a one-year deal earlier in the week.

Scutaro, 39, only appeared in five games for the Giants last season, being sidelined for the rest of the season due to back issues. He had fusion surgery last month and is expected to spend the next four to six months recovering, leaving a return to baseball in jeopardy after a thirteen-year major-league career.

Scutaro will continue to rehab with the Giants, with whom he won a World Series in 2012 while being named NLCS MVP. He hit a combined .315/.363/.399 with five home runs and 75 RBI in parts of three seasons with the Giants, improving his career line to .277/.341/388 with the Mets (2002-2003), Athletics (2004-2007), Red Sox (2010-2011), Rockies (2012) and Giants (2012-2014).