Marlon Byrd was designated for assignment on Friday night to open up room on the 40-man roster for Daisuke Matsuzaka, who was set to make his first start in the majors since undergoing Tommy John surgery. Just a few days later, the Red Sox couldn't find any takers for Byrd. As a result, the outfielder has been released.

Byrd was acquired by the Red Sox on April 21, following the shoulder injuries to Jacoby Ellsbury and Jason Repko. The Cubs were paying for nearly all of his salary -- and received Michael Bowden and Hunter Cervenka for that -- but never quite hit enough with the Red Sox to survive the return of some of the team's healthy outfielders. Byrd was much better than during his start to the year with the Cubs, but .270/..286/.320 is still a sub-replacement batting line. With Darnell McDonald back on the roster, Daniel Nava succeeding since his call-up, and Cody Ross on the way back from his foot injury, there's little need for Byrd at the big-league level at this stage.

Boston is only on the hook for the remainder of the league minimum on his deal, with the Cubs responsible for the rest if someone acquires him.