There was speculation a couple of days ago that the Diamondbacks would release Russ Ortiz. It's now happened.

Ortiz is believed to be the most expensive player to be cut loose in baseball history.

The club designated the struggling right-hander for assignment, which means it has 10 days to trade, waive or release him. The team is on the hook for the balance of the $33 million, four-year contract Ortiz signed in December 2004, a figure general manager Josh Byrnes said was close to $22 million.

It's a gutsy move. Ortiz is not helping them win.

"We're like most clubs: Every dollar counts. You want to spend them as effectively as possible," Byrnes said at a Chase Field news conference. "That affected the decision, but we also were true to ourselves, and we want to put our best 25 on the field and try to win games. That led us to our decision.

"We have to spend all our dollars wisely, and obviously we owe Russ a lot of money going forward," Byrnes said. "The flip side is we probably have more young talent than anyone in baseball, and that's a good thing as managing the payroll."

In other words, they have a few years before their young talent is able to demand a lot more money. This move stands in stark contrast to the Angels and the Jered Weaver situation. Of course, it's an easier move for Byrnes to make since he didn't make the original mistake of signing Ortiz.