BOSTON (CBS) – The Red Sox have designated outfielder Mike Cameron for assignment, the team announced Thursday.

“It’s not a move we were looking to make necessarily,” GM Theo Epstein said Thursday.

“I want to thank Mike for all his hard work. Especially battling through the tough injury he had last year. It wasn’t easy; he played through a lot of pain a lot last year. He had a tough adjustment this year to a new role and I’m sorry it didn’t work out. He’s a great person and he’s been a great player. We wish him well,” said Epstein.

“We’ve been scratching our heads with Mike for a little while,” he continued. “And I’ll take the hit on this one. He was still a productive player when we got him, but maybe with age, he just didn’t recover from injury as well. It was tough for him to overcome the injuries and then with the reduced role, it was a bit of a double whammy for him with us. He’s used to playing everyday.”

Cameron battled an abdominal injury for most of the 2010 season, but played through the injury. In 33 games with Boston this season, Cameron was batting .149 with nine RBI.

The Red Sox signed Cameron to a two-year deal before the 2010 season, in hopes he could play centerfield with Jacoby Ellsbury moving to left. With the addition of Carl Crawford this past off-season, Cameron was relegated to the fourth outfield spot but recently found himself behind Darnell McDonald and Josh Reddick on the depth chart.

He hit just .219 in his season-and-a-half with Boston.

Over his 17-year MLB career, Cameron has a lifetime average of .249. He won three gold gloves for his smooth defense and was known as a great clubhouse leader.

The Red Sox now have 10 days to trade or release Cameron.

The team has recalled infielder Yamaico Navarro from Triple-A Pawtucket, who is expected to arrive sometime during Thursday’s game against the Phillies.