Atlanta Braves dump Marcus Giles

ATLANTA, Dec. 13 (UPI) -- Atlanta Braves second baseman Marcus Giles is a free agent after the team refused to offer him a contract for the 2007 season.

In six years with the Braves, the 5-foot-8 inch sparkplug was a 2003 National League All-Star after being a 53rd-round draft pick in 1996. He has a career batting average of .285 with 72 home runs and 294 RBI.

"We have to make some financial decisions every year," Braves general manager John Schuerholz said on the team's Web site. "This was one of those tough ones."

In 2006, Giles, who struggled at the plate, batted .262 with 11 homers and 60 RBI in 550 at-bats. He committed 11 errors in 637 fielding chances.

"It wasn't completely unexpected," Giles' agent, Joe Bick, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. I'm confident there's a fair deal out there for Marcus."

One of the teams that might be interested is San Diego, where his brother, Brian, plays left field.