Miami Marlins Release Player on His Birthday

The Miami Marlins boast one of the best young catcher duos in baseball in the form of Agustin Ramirez and Liam Hicks, so there really was no need for Rob Brantly any longer.

That's why the Marlins designated for assignment this week, but here's the real kicker: Miami broke the news to Brantly on his birthday.

Yes, Brantly turned 36 years old this past Monday, when the Marlins revealed that they would be parting ways with him after his second stint in South Beach. Ouch.

Brantly played in just three games with the Fish this season, going 3-for-7 at the plate. He was originally acquired by the Marlins in a trade that sent Anibal Sanchez and Omar Infante to the Detroit Tigers back in July 2012 and made his big-league debut with Miami that year, slashing an impressive .290/.376/.460 with three home runs and eight RBI over 113 plate appearances.

That one lone season over a decade ago represents the bulk of Brantly's positive production throughout his MLB tenure.

Since then, Brantly has bounced around between several different teams, but was never able to catch on in a starting role anywhere else. Over the course of his professional tenure, Brantly has slashed .226/.286/.323 with seven homers and 38 RBI across 472 trips to the dish.

Brantly returned to the Marlins back in February, signing with the club in free agency. He can technically still remain in Miami's organization if he clears waivers, which is actually a distinct possibility. But chances are, we probably won't see Brantly playing in a big-league game with the Marlins again.