Royals designate struggling Infante for assignment

Omar Infante's time with the Kansas City Royals is coming to an end.

The Royals designated the second baseman for assignment Wednesday after he only managed to produce at a .239/.279/.321 clip.

Prior to his DFA, Infante hadn't appeared in a game for the Royals since June 6. Whit Merrifield is expected to see the bulk of the playing time with Infante out of the picture in Kansas City.

Interestingly enough, Infante still maintains a hold on third place in AL All-Star voting for second basemen.

Infante was in the third year of a four-year, $30.25-million contract he signed with the club prior to the 2014 season. The Royals would owe him the remainder of $7.75 million due this season, $8 million on his contract next season and a $2-million buyout for the 2018 season.

Over the course of the deal, Infante hit well below his career averages, recording a .238/.269/.328 slash line with eight home runs and 121 RBIs.

The former All-Star owns a .271/.308/.387 hitting line with 82 home runs and 542 RBIs during a 15-year career in the big leagues.